Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain found in athletes (and others) with a history of repetitive brain trauma which results in significant problem on executive function, memory, learning, concentration and perceptual function.
Head Guard aims to
- monitor user's motion and detect collision
- inform medical team when injuries prone collision will occur.
Head Guard 1.0 with built-in GPS and Accelerometer to measure momentum and movement of athlete. As user get closer to other athletes, Head Guard will detect the direction of incoming athlete. When momentum of user exceeds safety collision threshold, Head Guard will alert user with direction to avoid and advise actions to lower magnitude of collision.
When collision between player occurs, the magnitude of collision will be recorded and transmitted to medical team. Medical team can thus monitor player health and provide immediate medical attention when collision occurs. Records of collision measurements prevent misdiagnosis of concussions.
By presenting measured data in compact dashboard form, we allow user to monitor their health and minimize risk of brain injuries more efficiently.
Head Guard 1.0 is designed for American Football athletes. We are actively expanding into other sports which requires protection against brain traumas.
Our team is currently developing material built into Head Gear which can expand when triggered to absorb collision forces and compress to initial size to fit within helmet after collision.
By incorporating Machine Learning and predictive analytics, our team aims to enhance Head Guard's ability in guiding user's movement to prevent head collision during sports.
2 sensors are included in the design to accurately detect occurrence of collision. HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensors are used to detect the presence of objects around user and measure the distance of object from user.
Accelerometer LIS 3DH monitors motion of user by keeping track of user's acceleration. By combining these two measurements, the device is able to accurately detect collision.
To illustrate the detection, 2 condition must be fulfilled for collision to occur.
1. Ultrasonic sensor indicates distance between user and object in close proximity is very small.
2. Accelerometer records sudden change in acceleration which exceeds safety threshold.
The measurements are recorded and transmitted to MQTT Broker. A copy of the records are uploaded to remote cloud storage. In the future, data will be illustrated on an information dashboard to assist medical team in the injury diagnosis.
When user's sudden change in acceleration exceeds a safety threshold, this indicates sudden change in motion due to collision.
Medical team will be notified of user's collision magnitude and time of collision so appropriate medical cure can be applied immediately. The records are kept to assist medical team in determining prognosis of injuries and preventing misdiagnosis.
Current Graphic User Interface to assist user in tracking collision. Large fluctuation in acceleration measurements and sharp drop in distance measurements indicate collision.
Head Guard 2.0 - Emergency Airbag for The Brain
For the future product of Head Guard 2.0, our team is currently developing material built into Head Gear 2.0 which can expand when collision occurs. The expanded material provides compression cushion (impact attenuator) to absorb collision forces. After the collision, the material will re-compress to initial size to fit within helmet which allows user to continue in an agile movement.
