When an athlete takes a blow to the head in the middle of a game, athletic trainers are often forced to make quick and difficult decisions on whether or not a concussion has occurred. A new device hopes to make the decision easier. Called DETECT, it tests a player's cognitive ability and memory, which are impaired when a concussion occurs, through a series of sideline exercises.

Athletes suspected of having a concussion don tinted goggles that contain an LCD screen and are connected to large plastic headphones. Then, players are asked to respond to questions and commands on a laptop computer. The drills measure a player's real-time reaction, pattern recognition, and response to selective reminding, and typically take five to seven minutes to administer.

The device was tested last fall on the Georgia Tech football team, which currently uses the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) to make on-field diagnoses, and results are still being reviewed. What makes the DETECT device intriguing is that it blocks external stimuli, such as crowd noise, which can interfere with on-field testing procedures, and provides quantitative measures.

Accurate on-field assessment of concussions can reduce the risk of players sustaining "second impact syndrome," a repeat concussion occurring not long after receiving an initial head injury. These secondary blows can cause rapid brain swelling and lead to a coma or death.

In Concussion Prevention News, a three-year study by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center published in the February 2006 edition of Neurosurgery, found that football players who wore a helmet with more protection surrounding the temple and jaw area had fewer concussions than those wearing a standard helmet. The study looked at 2,141 high school football players, half of whom wore the Riddell Revolution helmets, which has additional padding around the temple and jaw. The Riddell-funded study showed the annual concussion rate for Revolution wearers to be 5.3 percent, compared to 7.6 percent for players wearing traditional helmets.