Date of Award

6-11-2014

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara: Santa Clara University, 2014.

First Advisor

Christopher Kitts

Abstract

The prevalence of undiagnosed head injuries in the athletic world, and their associated health risks, is too great to ignore. This is especially true in non-helmeted sports where the availability of impact monitoring technologies is few and far between. In this paper, we discuss our wireless impact sensing headband technology that aids in the awareness and detection of potential concussions, from inception through design completion. Through the use of a custom-built validation system capable of simulating impact collisions, along with a series of experiments and revisions, our team was able to build a device that can sense and transmit data throughout the majority of the impact range of standard concussions. This system has the potential to help millions of athletes around the world be much better prepared in the event of a potentially life-threatening head impact. However, while our system is able to accurately detect and transmit impact data in real time, we found that additions such as the ability to sample at a much higher rate than experimented with, a more ergonomic design, and a lightweight, durable enclosure would be needed in order for our product to be a viable mass-market competitor. Although the product is not ready for the mass market as of today, it will be a vital part to larger systems used for predictive analytics and more innovative and robust athletic game strategy.

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