Each year, between and concussions are sustained by athletes playing sports, with football having the highest incidence. The high number of concussions in football provides a unique opportunity to collect biomechanical data to characterize mild traumatic brain injury. Human head acceleration data for a range of impact severities were collected by instrumenting the helmets of collegiate football players with accelerometers. The helmets of ten Virginia Tech football players were instrumented with measurement devices for every game and practice for the 2007 football season. The measurement devices recorded linear and angular accelerations about each of the three axes of the head. Data for each impact were downloaded wirelessly to a sideline data collection system shortly after each impact occurred. Data were collected for 1712 impacts, creating a large and unbiased data set. While a majority of the impacts were of relatively low severity ( and ), 172 impacts were greater than 40 g and 143 impacts were greater than . No instrumented player sustained a clinically diagnosed concussion during the 2007 season. A large and unbiased data set was compiled by instrumenting the helmets of collegiate football players. Football provides a unique opportunity to collect head acceleration data of varying severity from human volunteers. The addition of concurrent concussive data may advance the understanding of the mechanics of mild traumatic brain injury. With an increased understanding of the biomechanics of head impacts in collegiate football and human tolerance to head acceleration, better equipment can be designed to prevent head injuries.
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June 2009
Research Papers
Linear and Angular Head Acceleration Measurements in Collegiate Football
Steven Rowson,
Steven Rowson
Center for Injury Biomechanics,
Virginia Tech-Wake Forest
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Gunnar Brolinson,
Gunnar Brolinson
Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Mike Goforth,
Mike Goforth
Department of Sports Medicine,
Virginia Tech
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Dave Dietter,
Dave Dietter
Department of Sports Medicine,
Virginia Tech
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
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Stefan Duma
Stefan Duma
Center for Injury Biomechanics,
Virginia Tech-Wake Forest
, Blacksburg, 24061
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Steven Rowson
Center for Injury Biomechanics,
Virginia Tech-Wake Forest
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Gunnar Brolinson
Edward Via Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Mike Goforth
Department of Sports Medicine,
Virginia Tech
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Dave Dietter
Department of Sports Medicine,
Virginia Tech
, Blacksburg, VA 24061
Stefan Duma
Center for Injury Biomechanics,
Virginia Tech-Wake Forest
, Blacksburg, 24061J Biomech Eng. Jun 2009, 131(6): 061016 (7 pages)
Published Online: May 12, 2009
Article history
Received:
July 14, 2008
Revised:
March 17, 2009
Published:
May 12, 2009
Citation
Rowson, S., Brolinson, G., Goforth, M., Dietter, D., and Duma, S. (May 12, 2009). "Linear and Angular Head Acceleration Measurements in Collegiate Football." ASME. J Biomech Eng. June 2009; 131(6): 061016. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.3130454
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