Abstract

To determine whether skull motion produced by pulsatile cerebral blood flow, as measured by cranial accelerometry, is altered during concussion.In phase 1, to identify a specific pattern indicative of concussion, cranial accelerometry of subjects who sustained a concussion underwent analysis of waveforms, which was compared with accelerometry from subjects without a concussion (baseline). In phase 2, this concussion pattern was tested against prospectively acquired, blinded data.High school tackle football practice and game play.Eighty-four football players.Subjects had accelerometry measurements and concurrent 2-lead electrocardiograms. In players with a concussion, multiple sequential measurements were obtained. Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 2 was used to assist clinical determination of concussion.Whether a characteristic waveform pattern of cranial accelerometry occurs in subjects with concussion.Phase 1 demonstrated a consistent pattern correlated to concussion. Phase 2 found this pattern in 10 of 13 subjects with concussion (76.9% sensitivity). Seventy-nine of 82 baseline plus nine postseason (total = 91) recordings from nonconcussed subjects did not show the concussion pattern (87% specificity).In subjects with concussion, we observed a unique pattern determined by cranial accelerometry. This may provide a method to noninvasively detect and longitudinally observe concussion.There is no objective, real-time, noninvasive, and easily accessible measure for concussion. If accelerometry is validated, it could provide a critical diagnostic tool for sports medicine physicians.

View details for DOI 10.1097/JSM.0000000000000117

View details for PubMedID 25010149