Football leagues team up to evaluate King-Devick Test on sidelines

The National Football League and the Canadian Football League have partnered to investigate additional concussion testing tools, according to a press release issued by the NFL.

As detailed in the release, several CFL teams have begun using the King-Devick Test during training camps and will continue to do so during their 2015 seasons so the league can assess the test's diagnostic abilities.

The NFL has contributed funding in the test evaluation, according to the release.

“Advancing the science around concussion diagnosis, prognosis and treatment to improve player health and safety is our priority,” Richard Ellenbogen, MD, co-chair of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee, said in the release. “We engage with the leading international experts and sports leagues to pursue that goal. We are grateful to the CFL, their teams and players for implementing the King-Devick Test this season to determine whether this protocol improves diagnosis and can make football, and all sports, safer.”

The King-Devick Test, which was recently renamed the King-Devick Test in Association With the Mayo Clinic, determines the presence of a concussion by measuring saccadic eye movements. Athletes are assessed using the remove-from-play test by their eye movements and rapid number naming.

Steve Devick, OD, cofounder and CEO of King-Devick Test, previously told Primary Care Optometry News that the test has been evaluated and produced effective results in more than 40 peer-reviewed articles published in neurology journals.

Some studies have indicated that the King-Devick Test may serve as more than a remove-from-play tool, as it detects unreported concussions as well.