A feasibility study towards instrumentation of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (iSCAT)

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2020 Jul:2020:4624-4627. doi: 10.1109/EMBC44109.2020.9175656.

Abstract

The Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) is a pen and paper-based evaluation tool for use by healthcare professionals in the acute evaluation of suspected concussion. Here we present a feasibility study towards instrumented SCAT (iSCAT). Traditionally, a healthcare professional subjectively counts errors according to SCAT marking criteria matrix. It is hypothesized that an instrumented version of the test will be more accurate while providing additional digital-based parameters to better inform player management. The feasibility study focuses on the SCAT physical functioning tasks only: double leg stance, single-leg stance, tandem stance and tandem gait. Amateur university rugby players underwent iSCAT testing and data were recorded with 8 inertial units attached at different anatomical locations. Video data were gathered simultaneously as reference. An iSCAT algorithm was used to detect errors and quantify additional concussion-based time and frequency domain parameters to assess participant stability during balance and gait tasks. Future work aims to instrument other SCAT features such as hand-eye coordination while deploying methods within a large concussion project.

MeSH terms

  • Athletes
  • Athletic Injuries* / diagnosis
  • Brain Concussion* / diagnosis
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Football*
  • Humans