Mild traumatic brain injuries, or concussions, can result from head acceleration during sports. Wearable sensors like the GForceTrackerTM (GFT) can monitor an athlete's head acceleration during play. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the GFT for use in boys' and girls' lacrosse. The GFT was mounted to either a strap connected to lacrosse goggles (helmetless) or a helmet. The assembly was fit to a Hybrid III (HIII) headform instrumented with sensors and impacted multiple times at different velocities and locations. Measurements of peak linear acceleration and angular velocity were obtained from both systems and compared. It was found that a large percent error between the GFT and headform system existed for linear acceleration (29% for helmetless and 123% for helmet) and angular velocity (48% for helmetless and 17% for helmet). Linear acceleration data transformed to the center of gravity (CG) of the head still produced errors (47% for helmetless and 76% for helmet). This error was substantially reduced when correction equations were applied based on impact location (3–22% for helmetless and 3–12% for helmet impacts at the GFT location and transformed to the CG of the head). Our study has shown that the GFT does not accurately calculate linear acceleration or angular velocity at the CG of the head; however, reasonable error can be achieved by correcting data based on impact location.
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October 2018
Research-Article
Laboratory Validation of a Wearable Sensor for the Measurement of Head Acceleration in Men's and Women's Lacrosse
Jessica M. Buice,
Jessica M. Buice
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: jbuice@umich.edu
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: jbuice@umich.edu
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Amanda O. Esquivel,
Amanda O. Esquivel
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: aoe@umich.edu
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road
,Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: aoe@umich.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Christopher J. Andrecovich
Christopher J. Andrecovich
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Wayne State University,
Detroit, MI 48201
e-mail: candrecovich@wayne.edu
Wayne State University,
818 W Hancock Street
,Detroit, MI 48201
e-mail: candrecovich@wayne.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Jessica M. Buice
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: jbuice@umich.edu
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: jbuice@umich.edu
Amanda O. Esquivel
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: aoe@umich.edu
University of Michigan-Dearborn,
4901 Evergreen Road
,Dearborn, MI 48128
e-mail: aoe@umich.edu
Christopher J. Andrecovich
Department of Biomedical Engineering,
Wayne State University,
Detroit, MI 48201
e-mail: candrecovich@wayne.edu
Wayne State University,
818 W Hancock Street
,Detroit, MI 48201
e-mail: candrecovich@wayne.edu
Manuscript received September 8, 2017; final manuscript received May 2, 2018; published online June 21, 2018. Assoc. Editor: Barclay Morrison.
J Biomech Eng. Oct 2018, 140(10): 101004 (8 pages)
Published Online: June 21, 2018
Article history
Received:
September 8, 2017
Revised:
May 2, 2018
Citation
Buice, J. M., Esquivel, A. O., and Andrecovich, C. J. (June 21, 2018). "Laboratory Validation of a Wearable Sensor for the Measurement of Head Acceleration in Men's and Women's Lacrosse." ASME. J Biomech Eng. October 2018; 140(10): 101004. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4040311
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