CHARLOTTE, NC – In 1969, I took a serious fall hitting my head while training on my bicycle. As a result of that fall I lost my sense of smell and spent five days in the hospital. In 2001, my son Edward, who was a goalkeeper, suffered two concussions in the same soccer season. On both occasions he was hit in the head by an opposing player which resulted in a week’s stay in the hospital. If either of us had used Shockbox the resulting problems from these accidents could have been avoided.
Danny Crossman and Scott Clark co-founders of Impakt Protective have a mission to provide a cost-effective head impact sensor that helps coaches, parents and therapists identify concussive events in professional and minor league players. The company is dedicated to changing the way people view both recreational and competitive sport.
The Shockbox is a range of impact sensors that enables people off the playing area, to receive immediate alerts on regular smartphones when a player suffers a serious head impact.
The Shockbox is a vital tool in the identification and management of concussions. Impakt Protective, the designer and producer of Shockbox, offers miniature helmet impact sensors for contact sport such as ice hockey. The sensors can also be used in football, soccer, lacrosse, skate boarding and any other contact sport.
The smart sensors detect hits to the head that may cause a concussion. People on the sidelines, such as trainers and coaches are immediately alerted. The sensor records the Peak G-force of a hit to the helmet and sends data to the Smartphone. On the phone Apps interpret the helmet impact data and match it to a corresponding head impact.
Thousands of tests are conducted on each helmet type to create an extensive data library. Shockbox software Apps are available for Android, i phone and Blackberry Smartphone devices and have an-easy to read display of player status impact alert and even features an assessment tool to allow trainers to record immediate symptoms following an impact.
In Canada, where the Shockbox is produced, injury is the leading cause of death among children. Fifty percent of all deaths from injuries are brain related, thirty percent of all traumatic brain injuries are sustained by children and youth. Each separate brain injury costs the medical system over $400,000 and remains close to that amount each following year due to indirect expenses and follow up treatment.
Catastrophic brain injuries in sport and recreation can affect anyone. Boys/men are four times more likely to be affected than girls/women. Impakt Protective can alleviate those problems.
The Ottawa Company is providing next generation impact detection for sportsmen and women. The letter K in the name stands for Kinematics; this is part of classical mechanics concerning the motion of objects. The Company vision is to build the tools that monitor the motion, presenting it to the user in an easy to understand format.
EddieMitchell@ProHockeyNews.com
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