Personal Injury Law

New Sideline Test Could Help Coaches Determine if Players Suffered Concussions

By Bruce Stern

While it's estimated that there are 300,000 football-related head injuries annually in the United States, the staggering reality is that this number continues to rise each year. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have come up with a sideline-test that can detect head trauma in athletes in just one minute. The King-Devick test is said to be able to capture impairments of eye movement, attention, language and other symptoms of impaired brain function.
The test involves athletes reading single digit numbers shown on index-sized cards; if there is an increase in the amount of time it takes to complete the test – the more likely it is that the player suffered a head injury.

"Concussion is a complex type of brain injury that is not visible on the routine scans we do of the brain, yet is detectable when we measure important aspects of brain function, such as vision," the study's lead author, Kristin Galetta, said in a news release. "The K-D test is only one test on the sidelines, though, and the diagnosis of concussion requires a combination of tests and input of medical professionals."

More extensive testing is needed in order to document post-concussion symptoms, but the hope is that by utilizing the K-D test, coaches will have a better way of determining if a player is able to return to the field.

Full post as published by Traumatic Brain Injury Law Blog on February 25, 2011 (boomark / email).