Six degree of freedom head acceleration measurements in football players

Rowson, S.; Chu, J. J.; Beckwith, J. G.; Greenwald, R. M.; Stitzel, J. D.; Kimpara, H.; Duma, S. M.

Affiliations

¹Virginia Tech – Wake Forest, Center for Injury Biomechanics

Abstract

The existing five degree of freedom HITS sensor used to measure head accelerations is incapable of measuring rotational head acceleration about the z-axis. A new six degree of freedom (6DOF) sensor has been developed capable of measuring linear and rotational accelerations for each axis. The 6DOF sensor consists of 12 accelerometers that integrate into football helmets and communicate wirelessly with a laptop on the sideline. An estimation algorithm processes the data from the 12 accelerometers to determine linear and rotational accelerations. The newly developed sensor is capable of accurately recording linear and rotational head accelerations experienced by football players. Twenty (20) players on the Virginia Tech football team will be instrumented with 6DOF sensors during the 2007 season.

Links

URL: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/bio/proceedings/2007_35/35-8.pdf

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Cited By (4)

Year	Entry
2013	Young TJ. Head Impact Biomechanics and Helmet Performance in Youth Football [Master's thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; December 9, 2013.
2014	Daniel RW II. Evaluation of Football Safety Techniques Utilizing Biomechanical Measurements [PhD thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; June 3, 2014.
2014	MacAlister AM. Head Impacts in Hockey and Youth Football: Biomechanical Response and Helmet Padding Characteristics [Master's thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; April 14, 2014.
2021	Kieffer EE. Sex-Specific Head Impact Exposure in Rugby: Measurement Considerations and Relationships to Clinical Outcomes [PhD thesis]. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; March 18, 2021.