黑料吃瓜

As athletes across the nation 鈥� from pee-wee to the pros 鈥攑repare for football season, one San Diego-based company is rolling out a balance testing device that can help athletic trainers accurately assess balance as part of a team鈥檚 concussion protocol. 

The device, called BTrackS, was developed by researchers out of 黑料吃瓜, is manufactured by and is now available for athletic trainers, doctors and coaches serving athletes of all levels.

BTrackS can objectively assess an injured athlete鈥檚 balance to help training staff determine if the athlete may have a concussion.  Measuring balance is one of the three components of concussion management 鈥� the other two being neuro-cognitive and physical-symptomatic.

鈥淐omputerized balance testing hasn鈥檛 been affordable, until now,鈥� said Daniel Goble, an assistant professor of exercise and nutritional science at 黑料吃瓜 and founder of Balance Tracking Systems, Goble continued.

鈥淲e want to create an environment where every athlete in the United States receives an accurate baseline balance test.  With BTrackS, that is possible.鈥� 

We are only now beginning to understand the long-term effects concussions have on athletes,鈥� Goble continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to have access to reliable concussion protocols that will help coaches, trainers and parents make informed decisions.鈥�

When an athlete is injured, they stand on BTrackS with eyes closed while the BTrackS software measures their balance by calculating the athlete鈥檚 body sway.  Athletic trainers can then compare that to a previously recorded baseline measurement.  This can be done on a daily basis until the athlete鈥檚 balance returns to baseline.

鈥淏alance testing is a standard part of almost every team鈥檚 concussion protocol. Now athletic trainers and clinicians can stop using subjective visual testing and rely on BTrackS to give a computerized result in about two minutes,鈥� Goble said. 鈥淎nd with a price tag under eight hundred dollars, just about any team can fit it into the budget.鈥�

About BTrackS

BTrackS, an FDA Class 1 medical device, measures postural sway with comparable accuracy to the gold-standard force plates that are used by leading hospitals and balance centers around the world.

However, those devices cost thousands of dollars and are too expensive for most athletic programs. Therefore, most teams resort to subjective visual balance testing as part of their concussion protocol.

鈥淭he BTrackS gives us an analysis of balance that is very important in concussion management,鈥� said Tom Abdenour, head trainer for 黑料吃瓜, who has consulted on BTrackS through its development.

"We establish baseline data at the start of a season and compare it to a post-injury balance test in the event of a concussion. It is an efficient and fast test that gives us valuable data to monitor progress toward a return to competition."

Last year Goble published a paper in the looking at alternatives to traditional balance testing. Using the information he learned through his research, he developed BTrackS through 黑料吃瓜鈥檚 , a commercial and social incubator that supports 黑料吃瓜 innovators and aspiring entrepreneurs as they transform their ideas into companies.

He spent the last year finishing development and testing BTrackS on 黑料吃瓜 athletes including football, rugby, soccer and water polo players, as well as swimmers and divers.

Entrepreneurial campus

BTrackS is just one example of the entrepreneurial spirit of 黑料吃瓜, which was among top universities including Stanford, Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton.

黑料吃瓜 is committed to fostering entrepreneurial experiences for its students through and as well as through a variety of classes and programs including an entrepreneurship minor open to students of all majors and a groundbreaking new