Administration of Programs FY 24-25 - The Graham

Grants and Contracts Details

Description

Clinicians, trainers, and coaches frequently face the challenge of making immediate field-side decisions regarding an athlete’s return to sport (RTS) after potential concussions or musculoskeletal injuries. Currently, the standard of care involves subjective assessment of an athlete’s symptoms to determine their readiness for RTS. Common subjective tests include the Sports Concussion Assessment Test (SCAT), range of motion (ROM) tests, and manual muscle testing. However, athletes often conceal pain or symptoms to expedite their return, increasing the risk of re-injury due to undetected impairments. Moreover, subjective methods lack the capacity to provide athletes with direct, comparative data on their performance relative to baseline levels. Our solution, The Graham, is a portable system designed to objectively evaluate balance, reaction time, and decision-making within a 10-minute protocol, providing quantifiable data that assists clinicians, coaches, and athletes in making well-informed RTS decisions. Initial feedback from National I-Corps discovery interviews has identified the sport horse industry as an optimal initial market, given the high injury rates and limited care accessibility at rural equestrian centers. The Graham aims to enhance access to care for translocational athletes by offering a user-friendly, portable device that not only measures performance objectively but also tracks changes over time. This capability allows athletes, coaches, and clinicians to make informed decisions based on clear, empirical evidence of their performance or recovery progress. We are currently enhancing our prototype with an innovative camera system to better capture reaction time and body positioning. The proposed grant will support feasibility testing, acquisition of user feedback, and refinement of the hardware system, focusing on ensuring the camera system provides accurate and reliable data on reaction times and performance metrics. This project promises to transform the current approach to injury assessment, rehabilitation, and RTS decisions, promoting athlete health and safety through enhanced objectivity in performance evaluations.
StatusActive
Effective start/end date10/15/244/30/25

Funding

  • University of Louisville: $41,750.00

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