Digital headset reveals when it is safe to resume sports after concussion

In an evaluation of the device, UC San Francisco researchers found it revealed brain changes in athletes whose concussion symptoms had gone away, suggesting they could be playing too soon.

The device could fill an important niche among athletes, clinicians, trainers and coaches, who are concerned about the long-term effects of repeated sports-related concussions, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. 

The headset – patented by UCSF and licensed by MindRhythm – picked up changes in what the researchers call ‘headpulse’, which are subtle forces exerted on the skull as the heart contracts. 

The researchers observed how the device performed on 101 young adults playing Australian Rules Football, who had experienced 44 concussions. The team’s findings have been published in JAMA Network Open.

On average, the changes detected by the headset lasted 12 days longer than the players’ symptoms. 

“We found a mismatch between symptoms and changes in biometrics recorded by the device,” said Cathra Halabi, MD, of the UCSF Department of Neurology and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, who is the first author of the study. “This raises concern about relying on symptoms for return-to-play decisions. Delays could be recommended for those symptom-free athletes if head pulse abnormalities persist.”