The Winston-Salem Journal examined how youth helmet research could play a role in tracking cumulative concussion effects.
Researchers at Wake Forest and Virginia Tech hope the studies will be aided by the money tagged for research in the NFL's $765 million concussion lawsuit settlement made with ex-players on Aug. 29. Of the proposed settlement, $10 million has been earmarked for research and mentoring.
Much of the research conducted on helmets and successive concussion impacts has involved college football players. The researchers from these two schools want to work with players at a lower level.
The Virginia Tech-Wake Forest studies involve using Risk Weighted Cumulative Exposure, which measures the frequency and magnitude of all impacts during a season. The researchers place sensors inside the helmets and record the variety of hits over the course of the season.
-- Bill Bradley, contributing editor
