Quality Issues in Kinematic Traces from Three Head Impact Sensors in Boxing: Prevalence, Effects, and Implications for Exposure Assessment.

Purpose: When used in-vivo or in biofidelic environments, many head impact sensors have shown limitations related to the quality and validity of the kinematics measured. The objectives were to assess the quality of kinematic traces from three head impact sensors, determine the effects of signal quality on peak accelerations, and compare measurements across sensors.

Methods: Head impacts were collected with instrumented mouthguards, skin patches, and headgear patches during boxing sparring.

Silent Struggles: Traumatic Brain Injuries and Mental Health in Law Enforcement.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of head injuries (HIs), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depressive symptoms in law enforcement officers (LEOs) and (2) the association between HIs and psychological health conditions.

Setting: County-level survey administered via Research Electronic Data Capture.

Participants: A total of 381 LEOs completed the survey (age = 43 ± 11 years; 40 [11%] females; time as LEO = 1-50 years, median = 15 years).

AI-Based Denoising of Head Impact Kinematics Measurements With Convolutional Neural Network for Traumatic Brain Injury Prediction.

Objective: Wearable devices are developed to measure head impact kinematics but are intrinsically noisy because of the imperfect interface with human bodies. This study aimed to improve the head impact kinematics measurements obtained from instrumented mouthguards using deep learning to enhance traumatic brain injury (TBI) risk monitoring.

Methods: We developed one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN) models to denoise mouthguard kinematics measurements for tri-axial linear acceleration and tri-axial angular velocity from 163 laboratory dummy head impacts.

Capturing Head Impacts in Boxing: A Video-Based Comparison of Three Wearable Sensors.

Wearable sensors are used to quantify head impacts in athletes, but recent work has shown that the number of events recorded may not be accurate. This study aimed to compare the number of head acceleration events recorded by three wearable sensors during boxing and assess how impact type and location affect the triggering of acceleration events. Seven boxers were equipped with an instrumented mouthguard, a skin patch, and a headgear patch.

Toward more accurate and generalizable brain deformation estimators for traumatic brain injury detection with unsupervised domain adaptation.

Machine learning head models (MLHMs) are developed to estimate brain deformation for early detection of traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, the overfitting to simulated impacts and the lack of generalizability caused by distributional shift of different head impact datasets hinders the broad clinical applications of current MLHMs. We propose brain deformation estimators that integrates unsupervised domain adaptation with a deep neural network to predict whole-brain maximum principal strain (MPS) and MPS rate (MPSR).

Padded Helmet Shell Covers in American Football: A Comprehensive Laboratory Evaluation with Preliminary On-Field Findings.

Protective headgear effects measured in the laboratory may not always translate to the field. In this study, we evaluated the impact attenuation capabilities of a commercially available padded helmet shell cover in the laboratory and on the field. In the laboratory, we evaluated the padded helmet shell cover's efficacy in attenuating impact magnitude across six impact locations and three impact velocities when equipped to three different helmet models.

Head Impact Research Using Inertial Sensors in Sport: A Systematic Review of Methods, Demographics, and Factors Contributing to Exposure.

Background: The number and magnitude of head impacts have been assessed in-vivo using inertial sensors to characterise the exposure in various sports and to help understand their potential relationship to concussion.

Objectives: We aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the field of in-vivo sensor acceleration event research in sports via the summary of data collection and processing methods, population demographics and factors contributing to an athlete's exposure to sensor acceleration events.

Methods: The systematic search resulted in 185 cohort or cross-sectional studies that recorded sensor acceleration events in-vivo during sport participation.

An Accessible, 16-Week Neck Strength Training Program Improves Head Kinematics Following Chest Perturbation in Young Soccer Athletes.

Context: Neck size and strength may be associated with head kinematics and concussion risks. However, there is a paucity of research examining neck strengthening and head kinematics in youths. In addition, neck training is likely lacking in youth sport due to a perceived inadequacy of equipment or time.

Assessing Head/Neck Dynamic Response to Head Perturbation: A Systematic Review.

Background: Head/neck dynamic response to perturbation has been proposed as a risk factor for sports-related concussion.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to compare methodologies utilised to assess head/neck dynamic response to perturbation, report on magnitude, validity and reliability of the response, and to describe modifying factors.

Methods: A systematic search of databases resulted in 19 articles that met the inclusion and exclusion criteria.