HEADSHOT

Created by Shreya Mahasenan, Madison Hooper, and Marie Miskin

Our Mission

We wanted to create a product that would transform the world of sports medicine. Concussions are an ever-increasing threat that continues to hang over the athletic community. Brain trauma is often missed or not diagnosed early enough. Even when it is diagnosed, the information gathered can only inspire a recovery plan as primitive as “give your brain plenty of rest.” Headshot is a revolutionary method of not only making timely diagnoses, but also helping athletes gain a better understanding of their injury and how to recover from it.

The Problem Part 1: DiagnosisIn the sports world, especially in contact sports such as hockey and football, concussions are becoming an increasingly prevalent problem. From the youth level to the professional level, we are starting to unearth more and more information about the frequency of brain trauma and the serious health problems that happen as a result of repeated head injury. But even with increasing awareness of concussions and related medical condities such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and second-impact syndrome, we still struggle with concussion diagnosis and treatment. A concussion is a “clinical diagnosis” - meaning a diagnosis is made based on clinical suspicion, and can neither be confirmed nor ruled out. As of now, we are not able to confirm concussions using MRI/CAT scans or blood tests. When even deciding whether or not a concussion occurred is so difficult, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it is to try and decide the seriousness of the concussion and the actual damage that has been sustained. This is a serious problem, as we are discovering more and more cases of athletes who repeatedly suffered head trauma but were never able to realize the extent of the damage that they took every time and the resultant buildup of medical issues. It is only post-mortem when we examine their brains that we realize they were spending the final years of their life with CTE and other conditions caused by frequent head trauma.

It’s bad enough that there is still so much uncertainty when it comes to the actual diagnosis of a concussion. However, this inability isn’t nearly as disastrous as our lack of ability to accurately track and confirm recovery. When a concussion or any type of head/brain trauma is sustained, full recovery is absolutely crucial. Studies have shown us that during the process of recovery, the brain is very vulnerable. We have come to understand that the disappearance of symptoms and the person reporting that they feel better is misleading and does NOT mean the brain has completed recovery. While this may possibly indicate progress in recovery, it cannot be taken as a sign that the brain is no longer vulnerable and has completed the healing process. Sadly, many people - especially athletes - take the disappearance of most of their symptoms as a sign that they are “ready to go” and immediately resume physical activity, which is about the most dangerous thing they can do but is terrifyingly common. As a result, many of them receive additional head trauma to a brain that has not yet recovered, causing second-impact syndrome. It is second-impact syndrome that is the biggest problem behind concussions; back-to-back concussions occurring to already injured brains have been discovered as the culprits behind some of the more serious long-term issues being developed by people with concussion histories. This is the most crucial problem to solve: we need a way to confirm recovery and prevent second-impact syndrome. Going off of symptoms is not a reliable approach.

The Problem Part 2: Recovery and Treatment

The Solution: A New Way to Confirm Diagnosis and Recovery Part 1To address this serious problem, we have devised a method that would help us be able to make more accurate diagnoses of head trauma and thereby improve our treatment methods and ability to accurately track progress of recovery. The inspiration came from a study on dreams. Electrodes were hooked up to lab rats that were then put through a maze. The electrodes allowed the scientists to track signals from certain regions of the brain, enabling them to tell which part of the brain the rat was using to navigate the maze. Later, while the rat was dreaming, the electrode signals told the scientists that the same parts of the brain were “lighting up” when the rat dreamed of running through the maze. We believe this existing technology can be harnessed to further concussion research. First, the person being tested would have several electrodes placed around his scalp to mirror the locations of the different regions of the brain. Currently, the Maddocks Questions Test is used to test someone who may have just been concussed. Similarly, for the purposes of this technology, a standardized set of “tests” or small tasks would be given to the person being tested. Each test would be designed to stimulate a certain part of the brain (like how doing a maze uses a certain part of the brain). Simultaneously, the electrodes would broadcast signals on the response of each region of the brain during each test. When compiled, the signals from the brain while the tests were administered could be analyzed for patterns in the data that would reveal which specific regions of the brain, if any, were damaged in the incident.

The Solution: A New Way to Confirm Diagnosis and Recovery Part 2The data gathered from this would therefore prove highly useful; by looking at the signals the brain was giving off, we could get a much more accurate idea of the way the brain is functioning and where any impairments are occurring. Of course, this would be a far more reliable way to make a diagnosis on whether or not the person has suffered a concussion. Even better, it would help doctors be able to give much more helpful and informed advice on recovery. Having not only gained an idea of whether or not the brain was damaged but where the brain is not functioning as it should be, doctors would know which specific types of stimulation a person should a give his brain some rest from and eventually begin therapy. Using the same technology, verification examinations can be done to measure the brain’s recovery progress and verify that the damaged regions are showing improvement in functionality. When the data shows improvement, doctors will know the person is finally nearing recovery, and can do more frequent examinations to fully verify recovery. Thereby lies our proposed solution to the problem. By using similar technology like that used in studies of dreaming and the brain, we can make more accurate and comprehensive diagnoses of concussions and brain injury and more precisely map out an individual’s recovery progress.

What We Have CreatedThe product that we invented is made up of simple instruments. The electrodes that would be used to measure brain activity would be made of sponge. There would be three sponges per region of the brain to help pinpoint where the concussion damaged the brain. Attached to these sponges would be a wire that connects with our data processor. The machine would then take the data that was transmitted from the electrodes and transform that information into a graph. The graph would show the “strength” of each signal, which could be compared to the normal function of that area. Although it may seem that making a device like this would be difficult, there are models that already exist, like LabQuest, that could be used for the overall product as well. This device would be compatible with computers (flash drive-built) and it would be programmed to give off Bluetooth signals to the sponges; there would be two ways to transmit information if needed.

Prototype of the Electrode Band

Prototype of the Data Analyzer

HeadShot’s ImpactConcussions are unpredictable and dangerous; having a device like the one we have made would help future research on head injuries and treatment. Our reach would be to athletic trainers and physicians to help them more accurately diagnose and treat head injuries. From a business standpoint, this would be a lucrative investment. It is protocol for trainers to see athletes if they get hit in the head, no matter the severity. Up to 3.8 million concussions happen every year just in sports and recreation related areas. Additionally, concussions can occur in almost every sport: soccer, hockey, football, rugby etc.

Headshot will transform modern rehabilitation and understanding if given a chance. Our entrepreneurship team is made up of athletes who see the effects of concussions first-hand. We have the solution to the problem, so please help us apply it.

Thank you

Research Cited “Brain Injury Treatment Concussion." Brain Injury Resource Center. N.p., 2004. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Carlezon, William A., and Elena H. Chartoff. "Intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) in rodents to study the neurobiology of motivation." Nature News. Nature Publishing Group, 15 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Feb. 2017.

"Concussion Facts | Sports Concussion Institute." Concussion Facts | Sports Concussion Institute. N.p., 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

“Diagnosing and Treating Concussion." Weill Cornell Brain and Spine Center. N.p., Nov. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Facts About Concussion and Brain Injury." Brainline.org. N.p., 24 Jan. 2016. Web. 17 Feb. 2017.

"Top 3 Devices for Monitoring and Measuring Brain Activity." IMotions. N.p., 07 Dec. 2016. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

"Types and Levels of Brain Injury." Brain Injury Alliance of Utah. N.p., Feb. 2002. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.