Smart phone application developed to detect concussion

A physician with the Children’s National Medical Center has developed the first mobile application designed to detect and help treat concussions in young athletes.

Information from the application, developer Gerard Gioia, PhD, claimed in a press release, can be sent from the application to the patient’s physician. Gioia is the director of the concussion program at Children’s National Medical Center.

“This new technology supports timely concussion recognition and response, which is essential in deciding if a young athlete needs to come off the field of practice or play,” Gioia stated in the release.

The application is designed for smart phones and tablets, and based on information gathered from sources including the Centers for Disease Control’s Heads Up program. The application takes parents and coaches through basic questions about observable signs and symptoms in an effort to determine whether a concussion has occurred. Further, it offers advice on how to respond.

An additional email interface, the release noted, allows for detailed information collected on the field to be sent immediately to the athlete’s parents and physicians.

The program “makes it possible to alert physicians with essential injury information, who soon will have an office-based application for tracking injured patients,” Gioia stated in the release. “We plan an entire suite of related concussion assessment and treatment applications, including those for students and school officials, for a comprehensive approach to concussion care.”

Reference:

www.childrensnational.org

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