Brain biometrics helps identify sports concussions

Conducted in collaboration with the University of California San Francisco (UCFC), researchers found that changes in brain micro-movements – called ‘head pulses’ – could detect the lasting effects of a concussion.

Using a custom-designed headset* to evaluate head pulse biometry among 101 amateur male and female Australian Rules Football players in South Australia, researchers identified brain abnormalities in 81% of concussed players, indicating persistent injury that lasts longer than the expected recovery times.

These head pulse changes lasted 14 days after concussion symptoms and were exacerbated by return to play or unsupervised physical activity.

UniSA professor of kinesiology Kevin Norton says headpulse measures could complement current return-to-play protocols.

“Traumatic brain injuries affect more than 60 million people every year, a third of which are sports-related,” says Prof. Norton.

“While we know that the Australian sporting sector takes concussion seriously – through informed return-to-play protocols – we also know that objective measures of concussion recovery have not been fully established.

“In this study, we used head pulses – a normal measure of brain ‘wobble’, matched to each heartbeat – to assess any changes in frequency due to concussion.

“We found that almost all players who suffered a concussion had a ‘disconnect’ between their symptoms and the head pulse, so that even when the players said they felt fine, the head pulse still showed signs of brain injury.”

While most players felt like they had recovered 10 to 14 days after their injury, the study showed that some players took as long as four weeks to recover and return to normal head pulse patterns.

Concussion recovery protocols in Australian Football require 24 to 48 hours of strict physical and cognitive rest, followed by graded individual training and then team training, provided there is no worsening of symptoms; the earliest permitted return to play upon completion of protocol and medical clearance is 12 days post-concussion.

The Australian Senate Committee Report Concussion and repetitive head trauma in contact sports Published this month, it recommends that national sporting associations should explore further rule changes for sport to prevent and reduce the impact of concussions and repetitive head trauma.

This research adds to the growing body of knowledge underlying concussion protocols.

Comments

• *The headset is patented by UCSF and licensed by medical technology company MindRhythm.
• Data on sports-related concussions and repetitive head trauma are under-reported in Australia, but the latest AIHW data shows that 2305 sports-related concussions occurred between 2019 and 2020. Men suffered 70% of concussions and over a third of people hospitalized were young athletes aged 15 to 24.
• About 730 of the concussions occurred while playing some form of football; and approximately 440 occurred while cycling