TTA Archives 2005-2012

The National Football League (NFL), which we spotlighted on major support of the FNIH on TBI research [TA 7 Sept] is using technology to observe football players on the sidelines and reinforce the role of trainers on the scene. In what is called a sideline replay system, team doctors view players through separate sideline monitors and help the trainers diagnose and treat injuries — particularly potential concussions. A certified athletic trainer also observes the sidelines from the press box for injured players and to operate the replays for team doctors to view. Behavioral indicators are the usual indicators of when a player is ‘dinged’, but in the example from the New York Giants, sideline trainers went almost immediately to a player hit from behind observed by the press box trainer even before his teammate could signal that he was not making any sense. The player was brought back to the onsite medical facility and administered the standard league concussion assessment on an iPad (pre/post-injury scores immediately displayed for staff and player). iPads are also used to view X-rays taken onsite. The Giants are one of the few teams who store all records electronically, but the league may be implementing a cloud-based system by next season. With New Medical Technology, a Less Controversial Instant Replay (New York Times)