Western Michigan students create concussion-detecting helmet sensor

A group of students at Western Michigan University has developed a helmet that detects when a football player has suffered a concussion. The technology uses a

A group of students at Western Michigan University has developed a helmet that detects when a football player has suffered a concussion. 

The technology uses a sensor to transmit information from a collision to the sideline. From MLive.com's report:

[Ali] Eshkeiti and other student engineers designed a pressure sensor for helmets using printed electronics. Data from the sensor can be relayed over Bluetooth to a smartphone, so that a coach or other team leader would instantly know the severity of an impact.The data also could be stored on a cloud-based server, so doctors and trainers could see a player's complete history.

The product seeks to mitigate the possibility of misjudgement by coaches and doctors, particularly because the onus is often on players to self-report concussions.  

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This year, a number of college football teams will be using RiddellSpeedFlex helmets, which are designed to lessen the impact of concussions. 

Very excited to have our players wearing these helmets. Player safety always Priority 1 #WooPig pic.twitter.com/ZuGZlOMo2e

— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) March 21, 2014

- Josh Sanchez