Cleveland Clinic Spinoff Prevent Biometrics® Introduces Game-Changing Head Impact Monitor

Source: Prevent Biometrics®

Prevent’s technology accurately detects potential concussion-causing impacts and provides real-time alerts – reducing recovery time and the risk of permanent damage

Minneapolis (Sept. 14, 2016) — Prevent Biometrics^® today announced its revolutionary head impact monitor, which can detect potential concussion-causing impacts in real-time on the field of play. Prevent’s product will take today’s observational, subjective and inaccurate method of identifying athletes for concussion assessment, and turn it into an objective, accurate, data-driven process.

Studies show that each year, more than half the estimated 3.8 million sports concussions in the U.S. go undetected.¹ According to recent research by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Sports Medicine Concussion Program, players who stay in the game after head trauma take nearly twice as long to recover as athletes who leave the game immediately.² When it comes to concussions, immediate detection and full recovery are key to preventing long-term damage.³

“Even with the best equipment, player technique, rules of play and education, concussions can’t be prevented. We want kids to experience the life-changing benefits of sports without risking the consequences of playing with this invisible injury,” said Steve Washburn, Prevent Biometrics co-founder and CEO. Washburn was previously the CEO of Shock Doctor Mouthguards for 15 years, where he built the brand into the market leader. 

Prevent’s technology was developed over eight years by neurosurgeons and engineers at Cleveland Clinic with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others. Cleveland Clinic remains Prevent Biometrics’ product development partner and maintains an equity interest in the company. 

Prevent Biometrics, founded in 2015 and based in Minneapolis, recently completed a Series A funding round of $2.5 million. Along with Cleveland Clinic, the company is also a recent sub-awardee of a $4.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. 

Detecting potential concussion-causing impacts: how it works

Embedded in a mouthguard and paired with a mobile app, Prevent’s impact monitor continually monitors the athlete, collecting every head impact received. If an impact force exceeds a preset threshold, a red LED immediately illuminates on the mouthguard and an alert is sent to team personnel through the mobile app.

The head impact monitor uses a patented deformable body algorithm to measure the force, direction and location of head impacts in real-time, providing the most accurate and comprehensive view of athlete head impacts. Prevent’s head impact monitor is extremely accurate, with an error rate of +/- 5 percent, and is the only product to have its accuracy proven in a peer reviewed study, which was based on the NFL 

Level 1 validation standard.⁴

“Research has shown that accurate head impact measurements are impossible to achieve without a secure coupling to the skull. This is why we chose to embed our impact monitor in a mouthguard, and develop our technology and intellectual property around this concept,” said CEO Washburn.

Beta testing currently underway includes on-field testing by youth and high school football, lacrosse and ice hockey players, and by leading concussion researchers at major universities.

Prevent Biometrics plans to offer two versions of its head impact monitor for athletes ages 11 and older, starting at $199. The company is targeting six markets for launch in early 2017, including Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis. Prevent plans to introduce the product nationwide by 2018.

^{1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14712161}

^{2 http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/08/25/peds.2016-0910}    

^{3 https://www.umc.edu/News_and_Publications/Centerview/2011-03-07-01_Early_detection_of_concussions_could_minimize__second_impact_syndrome_.aspx}

^{4 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26192948}

About Prevent Biometrics^® Inc. 

Prevent Biometrics^®, a Cleveland Clinic spin-off, was established in 2015 in Minneapolis. The company has developed the first and only concussion impact monitoring technology that accurately detects potential concussion-causing impacts in real-time. For additional information visit PreventBiometrics.com.