According to the Center for Disease Control, almost 2 million people each year suffer from concussions and other traumatic brain injuries.
In the sports world, concussions have been in the limelight as athletes come forward with reports of lasting affects from the brain injuries they sustained while playing. As a result, the sports community is becoming increasingly aware of how important it is to properly treat a concussion and gather as much data as possible close to the time of impact.
C3 Logix is a new, innovative concussion evaluation technology that provides on site data collection at the time of injury, to better aid physicians in diagnosis and treatment. The program is loaded into an iPad and before the season starts, athletes perform a series of neurocognitive tests. The program tracks the athlete’s visual reflexes and their ability to focus on moving objects. Results of these baseline tests can then be compared to data logged in incident reports at the time of suspected brain injury.
Through the use of an iPad, tests can be performed at schools, instead of off site testing centers. Jason Cruickshank, athletic trainer at St. Edward’s High School in Cleveland, OH used C3 Logix for the first time during last year’s football season.
“It is a ready access point,” he says. “It gives us a snapshot on how the brain is functioning at that moment.”
The information that C3 Logix provides is key because the athletic trainer or doctor doesn’t have to rely solely on the testimony of an injured player, whose main priority might be returning to play. According to Keith Lejeune, Vice President of Innovation Deployment at Allegheny Health Network, the program’s design can also help demonstrate to the players how their brain and neurocognition has changed due to their injury, through comparative graphics.
