FAQ

What is the Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP)?

The Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) is a consortium of seven lead investigators from five different institutions. The research team includes expertise in biomechanics, neuropsychology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, clinical sports medicine, and athletic training. The research is funded by award R01HD048636 (Principal Investigator Richard Greenwald) from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR) within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Partnership Institutions Include:

Dartmouth Medical School: Neuropsychiatry Clinic, Neuroimagaing, Clinical Neuropsychology

Dartmouth College: Department of Athletics, Thayer School of Engineering

Rhode Island Hospital: Bioengineering Laboratory

Brown Univeristy: Department of Athletics

Virginia Tech: Center for Injury Biomechanics, Department of Athletics

Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine: Clinical Sports Medicine

Simbex: Bioengineering research and product development

Participating Collegiate Teams:

  • Brown University:
    • Football
    • Men's Ice Hockey
    • Women's Ice Hockey
  • Dartmouth College:
    • Football
    • Men's Ice Hockey
    • Women's Ice Hockey
  • Virginia Tech:
    • Football


Hit System in use at Dartmouth College

Why Study Sport-Related Concussions?

Sports offer a unique laboratory environment for studying concussions because of the large population at risk, on-site medical coverage, access to matched control subjects and access to athletes for serial testing, including baseline, post-injury follow-up and post-season testing.

The Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System was developed to specifically measure acceleration to the head from a direct head impact. The in-helmet instrumentation allows for measurements of magnitude, linear and rotational acceleration, location,and duration on an impact to the head in real-time. Combining the head impact data collected daily on-field using the HIT System, with the clinical pre-season baseline , post-injury and post-seasonassessments allows for a more comprehensive examination and understanding of the mechanisms of a concussive injury as well as outcome measures for return-to-play decisions.



What is a mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)?


From the Zurich Consensus-2008: 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport

"Concussion is defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by traumatic biomechanical forces. Several common features that incorporate clinical, pathologic and biomechanical injury constructs that may be utilized in defining the nature of a concussive head injury include:

  • Concussion may be cause either by a direct blow to the head, face, neck or elsewhere on the body with an "impulsive" force transmitted to the head.
  • Concussion typically results in the rapid onset of short-lived impairment of neurologic function that resolves spontaneously.
  • Concussion may result in neurpathological changes but the acute clinical symptoms largely reflect a functional disturbance rather than a structural injury.
  • Concussion may result in a graded set of clinical symptoms that may or may not involve loss of consciousness. Resolution of the clinical and cognitive symptoms typically follows a sequential course however it is important to note that in a small percentage of cases however, post-concussive symptoms may be prolonged.
  • No abnormality on standard structural neuroimaging studies is seen in concussion."[2]


Links

Partners, Research Partners and Laboratories:

Riddell - InSITE: Coming Soon!

BioEngineering Laboratory - Brown University - Alpert Medical School

Center for Injury Biomechanics - Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University

Dartmouth Brain Imaging Lab

Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM)

Neuroscience Center at Dartmouth

Simbex



Participating Institutions and Athletic Teams:

Brown University

Brown Athletics - Brown Bears

Dartmouth Athletics

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Dartmouth Medical School

Rhode Island Hospital

Virginia Politechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech)

Virginia Tech Athletics - Hokie Sports



Funding Agencies:

National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR)

National Institute of Child Health and Human Developement(NICHD)

Centers for Disease Control and Injury Prevention (CDC)

National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE)



Additional Resources:

American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM)

American College of Sports Medicine

International Sports Engineering Society

International Society of Biomechanics in Sports