Search

Wearable sensors are an important tool in the study of head acceleration events and head impact injuries in sporting and military activities. Recent advances in sensor technology have improved our understanding of head kinematics during on-field activities; however, proper utilization and interpretation of data from wearable devices requires careful implementation of best practices. The objective of this paper is to summarize minimum requirements and best practices for on-field deployment of wearable devices for the measurement of head acceleration events in vivo to ensure data evaluated are representative of real events and limitations are accurately defined. Best practices covered in this document include the definition of a verified head acceleration event, data windowing, video verification, advanced post-processing techniques, and on-field logistics, as determined through review of the literature and expert opinion. Careful use of best practices, with accurate acknowledgement of limitations, will allow research teams to ensure data evaluated is representative of real events, will improve the robustness of head acceleration event exposure studies, and generally improve the quality and validity of research into head impact injuries.

We understand the comments of Duma and Rowson in their letter to the Editor. We believe they do not change the conclusions of our study (Jadischke et al., 2013) or the relevance of our findings of poor accuracy with HIT on many helmet impacts in football. If an individual impact cannot be measured accurately, how can a collection of unreliable data then become accurate? First, Duma and Rowson explain at length that they have taken no funding from helmet manufacturers and are independent; however, they do not tell the reader that frequently they have co-authors on their studies, who are employed or own Simbex, the company that developed the HIT system. Based on this, it appears there is a conflict of interest in the Duma and Rowson studies regarding HIT and also in their comments on Jadischke et al. (2013) because of the close affiliation with Simbex... Keywords: American football Language: en