Concussion discussion: Irish-designed ear sensor detects hazardous sporting impacts

Head injuries are a concern in any contact sport but it can be difficult for those watching a game to assess just how severe an impact has been. Eóin Tuohy, founder of Sports Impact Technologies, saw this as a problem in search of a solution and combined his skills in mechanical engineering and human space flight to develop a sensor that sits behind the ear and feeds live impact data directly to the sideline.

Coaches, managers, medics, or parents monitoring their child, get access to the data via a pitchside app. If the system is being used by a team the app will list the players and any impacts will show up against their names. There is also a web portal working away in the background collating the cumulative data. This shows how many times a player headed the ball during a game or suffered an impact. Also, because the sensor is sport and player agnostic – meaning it can be worn by any player for any sport – it keeps a running tally of all the hits suffered and a player can see if they need to ease back if the numbers are too high.

“The big worry is always second impact syndrome,” says Eóin Tuohy. “That’s where someone suffers an impact or a concussion that’s not picked up at the time and then they suffer another one in the same game or maybe a week later and that can cause real problems. It’s rare but very dangerous, and our system would flag the initial impact so the person leaves the game and the second impact never happens,” adds Tuohy, who was fortunate to have the in-house software development expertise of his brother, Dónal, to help him with the prototype.

[ Wearing protective headgear for sport does not prevent concussion, experts warn ]

Gumshield sensors are the main way impacts are monitored but Tuohy points out their shortcomings, such as cost (€200 upwards), the fact that they have to be regularly replaced and can’t be shared between players, which the ear sensor can. It is roughly the size of a €2 coin and kept in place with surgical grade adhesive tape. Clubs will be able to buys kits with 30 Sports Impact sensors apiece, while concerned parents will be able to buy a sensor online for about €100.

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“The idea for the product was sparked by an article my dad sent me about a study on the long-term effects of heading the ball in soccer. This piqued my interest as soccer is not something you immediately think about when it comes to brain health. So, I had a look to see what was out there and found nothing that addressed the problem clearly. I started to build a prototype and things went from there,” says Tuohy, who hopes to launch the sensor, which is being manufactured in Limerick, in the first quarter of next year. The initial target market will be clubs and schools with a rugby or GAA focus.

Tuohy has a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with business from UCD and an MSc in space studies from ISU, Strasbourg. He has worked in process engineering roles in the UK and Australia and before starting his own business he worked for the European Space Agency’s European Astronaut Centre where he was involved in the development of an ocular scanner (which detects changes in astronaut eyesight) for use on missions to the International Space Station.

Sports Impact Technologies was set up last November and investment to date has been about €75,000 between personal funds and backing from Wicklow LEO and ESA BIC, which supports start-ups with a space connection. The company has recently qualified for pre-seed start-up funding of €100,000 from Enterprise Ireland and is looking to raise the same again to build out the team and prepare the sensor for its commercial launch next year.