Skip to main content

The solution to football concussions may come from ‘a smartphone in your mouth’

Jack Marucci is the director of athletic training at LSU, where the nationally-ranked football team averages about six concussions during a month of training camp, but only two or three during a season spanning from September until January.

Usually, the concussions are suffered by the largest men on the field, the offensive and defensive linemen.

Wondering why, Marucci began researching sensors and accelerometers, most suited for use in helmets or even do-rags.

Nothing was quite right until he stumbled across i1 Biometrics’ Vector MouthGuard, which addressed his questions and concerns differently — its sensors are embedded inside the age-old protective dental device, delivering a more accurate and real-time measure of force to the head.

The information gathered from the Vector MouthGuard can lead to increased detection and awareness.

“It’s a fixed portion of your skull,” explains Jesse Harper, i1 Biometrics’ CEO. “Think of it like a smartphone in your mouth. We have accelerometers, gyroscopes, microprocessors – all of those things in the mouthguard.

“So, because of the fit with your teeth, everywhere your skull goes, the mouthguard is able to measure that.”

Adds Marucci: “It was a perfect marriage of what we were looking for — more data … It’s like having a computer on board — it can check for safety. It’s basically another set of eyes you can have.”

The results are transmitted to a trainer or physician on the sideline, viewable via laptop or smartphone. There are no lights or buttons – once the mouthpiece is inserted, it turns on. It comes with a clam-shell charging case that runs on a pair of AA batteries that should last an entire season.

Made from ExxonMobil’s Vistamaxx elastic polymer technology, the Vector MouthGuard is extremely durable, which is key because the cost — $199 — might be prohibitive for some, particularly high-school players.

i1-Biometrics-Vector-MouthGuard-014
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Harper says the mouthpiece, which was field-tested this year by four high-school teams across the country and will be available for purchase at the start of the 2015, is designed for use in multiple sports. There will be an adult and a youth version.

It’s important to note that this product will not diagnose concussions, the hot-button topic surrounding football (and athletics, really) at all levels. But the information gathered from the Vector MouthGuard can lead to increased detection and awareness.

Who isn’t interested in that?

“Yes, we’re for-profit, but I got into this because I care about the sport,” Harper says. “I want to keep these players as safe as possible, have a better understanding of what they’re going through on the field of play, coach them and give them better tools to be successful and ultimately help the sport … The NFL does things like move the kickoffs forward for less acceleration time. We don’t know if that does anything. If we have a different helmet type, does that translate to force to the head? Playing on grass or turf? Three-point stance versus two-point stance?…

“Everywhere your skull goes, the mouthguard is able to measure that.”

“This is the first scalable way to get this data from these players, to build context. That’s my ultimate goal.”

Already, it has served as a vital teaching tool at LSU.

There is a secondary benefit as well. Because areas of impact can be traced – a 3-D rendering of the head is among the data instantly transmitted — it can also serve as a performance device. If a player is ducking his head during a tackle and using the crown of his helmet, which is not only an enforceable penalty but also dangerous, potentially career-threatening, it can be fixed.

“It has already corrected some of our guys,” Marucci says.

He estimates 20 players are currently using the Vector MouthGuard, down from an original 30, a dip the athletic trainer attributes to “compliance.” It seems some simply don’t want to use the high-tech mouthpiece.

But the data culled from those that stuck with it? It has reinforced Marucci’s theories, particularly regarding the offensive and defensive linemen, those behemoths most apt to sustain concussions.

i1-Biometrics-Vector-MouthGuard-012
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“It’s micro-traumas,” he says. “A lot of contact. They’re always making contact. People don’t look at that as much. They see the big blow and the guy goes down … This gave us confirmation on an offensive lineman in a regular practice may take — the cut-off for an ‘impact’ hit is 25 Gs or greater – up to 15 to 20 ‘impacts’ a practice.

“Over a year, if you add this up, it gives us some relevance to say we need to re-evaluate how we practice, to re-evaluate training camp.”

In fact, Marucci has already gleaned enough information from LSU’s limited use of the Vector MouthGuard that he’s comfortable enough to conclude that “training camp is antiquated, probably a little lengthy and you don’t need two-a-days.” And this is in the football-obsessed Southeastern Conference.

Talk about change.

Images: John Ballance / The Advocate

Jeffrey Martin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Jeffrey Martin is an award-winning freelance writer based in Portland, Ore., who has worked at USA Today, The Oregonian, and…
GlassesUSA Black Friday Sale: Get 30% off prescription glasses
GlassesUSA frames close up with multiple styles.

Need a new pair of glasses? Want to stock up for your holiday trips before you head to meet up with your relatives? Typically, you'd have to wait until the official Black Friday event, the day after Thanksgiving, or maybe even Cyber Monday, but that's not the case this year. Alongside a variety of the best online glasses deals, GlassesUSA is hosting a huge Black Friday sale early, allowing you to save big on prescription glasses and frames with no waiting necessary. Of course, we always recommend browsing the sale of your own accord to see what's discounted because we couldn't possibly cover everything, nor could we know precisely what you're looking for. That said, we've called out quite a few of the best deals below.

What to shop in the early GlassesUSA Black Friday sale
Rightfully dubbed the Black Friday Early Bird sale, now's an excellent time to save up to 30% on prescription glasses. Moreover, GlassesUSA is truly dedicated to helping you find the perfect pair. Not only are there a ton of brands and styles to choose from, but you'll benefit from free shipping and returns and a money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied. You can even take to find the correct pair for your face. Ray-Ban, Oakley, DKNY, Prada, Ottoto, Muse, they are all here and available to shop, most discounted even. Men's and Women's eyewear are on sale, too, so there's something for everyone.

Read more
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deals you can shop now
Daughter gifting Ancestry Gift Membership to family

DNA tests are awesome holiday gifts for your family. Together you can all build your family tree and discover your genetic makeup. Unfortunately the tests are pretty expensive, but at least you only need to test once. There are some nice Black Friday deals going on today that will save you a significant amount of money on single tests or bundles. Check out our favorite below, then more more deals worth checking out under that.
The best DNA testing kit Black Friday deal
AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit -- $59, was $99

The single person AncestryDNA Genetic Test Kit is our pick for the best Black Friday deal already available. The kit normally costs $99, but right now it's down to just $59. That's a nice discount of $30 on one of the best DNA tests available. We're not sure how long this deal will last, so you should grab it soon.

Read more
The 5 best DNA test kits for 2024
We spit in a ton of test tubes to find the best and most unique DNA tests
A 23andme DNA kit.

Despite the fact that tons of competitors have sprung up in recent years, 23AndMe still makes the best DNA test on the market. It's the quickest, it's very comprehensive, and the way the company presents your genetic data is simple and easy to digest. However, depending on what kind of information you're looking for, there are other, more specialized DNA tests that might be better suited for you. Whether it's ancestry, fitness, disease risk, or something else entirely, there's likely a DNA kit that'll uncover that data.

With the rising popularity of these tests, we decided to take a closer look and see which ones are worth the investment. To do this, we secured a mail-in kit from as many DNA testing services as we could find, then shipped them a spit tube full of our precious genetic code for analysis. After looking through all the data and personally trying all of these services, there were a few that stood out from the pack. Here are our favorites:
The best DNA test kit in 2024

Read more