image of the Hiji Band from their Kickstarter page.
Concussions, unfortunately, are a very common part of sports today. Athletes sustain an estimated 3.8 million concussions every year. Many parents are worried about the safety of their children while they play sports, and immediately want to know if and when they sustain a concussion. That is why Eric Luster founded “Movement Interactive,” and came up with the idea for the Hiji Band.
The Hiji Band is a headband aimed at youth sports that contains the technology to detect the moment an athlete receives a concussion. If a concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs, the band will beep to let the player know they need to get off the field and see a trainer or medical personnel. The makers of Hiji Band also created an app that will send immediate alerts to the cell phones of parents or coaches of players.
According to Luster, the benefit of having the alarm go off on the actual headband is because it forces the player to leave the field.
“We’re looking to change the behavioral aspect of the kids,” Luster said. “We want for them to realize that concussions are a big deal, and they should leave the field as soon as they get one.”
The Hiji Band was originally designed to go inside a football helmet. After research and talking with parents, they realized that many children play multiple sports and would like to see a product that can be used to go between sports.
“With our research, we found out what the customer wants,” Luster said.
“We can render lots of information, because the band collects tons of data. But we have found that parents are mainly interested in getting the alert.”
Debbie Pacitti is a mother of three children in Austin, Texas, who play sports ranging from soccer to volleyball to lacrosse to football.
“I think the use of the Hiji Band would depend on the sport,” Pacitti said. “I probably wouldn’t make my daughter use one for volleyball, but I would make my son wear one for football.”
The first prototype came out a year ago, according to Luster. At first it was a really large headband, but after lots of tweaking, they have slimmed it down to a sleek design that doesn’t look much different than a sweatband.
Luster and his team have spent four years developing the technique at Arizona State University. They have teamed up with former ASU quarterback Steven Threet, who is an advocate for brain injury awareness. Threet sustained a series of concussions during his time in college, and one that ultimately ended his career. Since joining the Hiji Band team, Threet has been hands-on in trying to prevent concussions in athletics any way he can.
Todd Holmes is an athletic trainer for Lake Highlands High School in Dallas, Texas. He hopes to hear more about the Hiji Band and see if it could maybe be incorporated into the equipment used at the high school.
“We see all of the new technology every summer at the trainers convention,” Holmes said.
The Hiji Band is currently still on Kickstarter; and they are hoping to raise $7,000 to fund the assembly and distribution of their product.
