SmartPhone App Aids in the Detection of Concussions
Pediatric neuropsychologist Gerard Gioia, director of the Safe Concussion Outcome Recovery and Education (SCORE) program at Children’s National Medical Center, recently developed an APP for smartphones which asks the user a series of questions and saves the responses so you can share them later with a doctor.
The app also has the ability to e-mail a doctor the results of the questions you answered. There is also a feature called Home System Monitoring which helps parents monitor their child’s symptoms for a few days after the injury. The Return-to-Play Guide provides a daily, five-step workout routine for athletes to ensure a safe return to the field when fully recovered.
The app is intended to assist parents, coaches as well as brain-injury researchers. Although exact numbers of concussions are hard to calculate because many go untreated, this new app will aid in the early detection of concussion and help prevent serious long-term injuries.