Research initiatives to make players safer on and off the field have been in development for the past decade at many universities, including Wake Forest University, UNC Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech. All have worked on the development of helmet sensor technology to help detect traumatic head injuries, as they happen.  However, not everyone thinks helmet sensors are the answer to preventing head injuries.

"Helmets are not going to prevent concussions," said Dr. Fred Mueller, director of the National Center for Sports Injury Research at UNC Chapel Hill. "If you had an athletic trainer in every high school and middle school in the state, it would help a lot. The problem is the funding is just not there."

Read more: http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2011/jul/11/wsmet01-researchers-creating-a-safer-helmet-ar-1195836/

Last week's Federal Interagency Conference on Traumatic Brain Injury was a great success!  The Interagency Conference website has the abstracts from all of the presentations given on Pediatric TBI, here:

http://tbi-interagency-conference.org/materials/index/subject-PediatricTBI.html

Several of our colleagues from CBIRT presented symposia and scientific papers at the conference. Materials from these presentations by can be found on the CBIRT website:

http://tbifocus.org/publications-resources/#presentations

• Systematic Instruction of Assistive Technology for Cognition Following TBI
  • Presenters: Powell, L. E. & Wild, M. R.
• Longitudinal Investigation of the Post-High School Transition Experiences of Adolescents with Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Presenters: Ettel, D. & Todis, B.
• Transitioning Students with TBI From High School to the Community
  • Presenter: Hood, D.

and at:

http://tbifocus.org/publications-resources/#presentations

• Empirically-Based Interventions To Improve Cognitive, Behavioral, and Academic Outcomes Following Pediatric TBI
  • Presenters: Glang, A.; Harn, B.; Taylor, H. G.; Wade, S.