GForceTracker INC. (GFT) is doing what it can to help prevent and better understand football head injuries by using its impact sensing tech in chin guards. The GFT chin guard, which measures both linear acceleration and rotational velocity, can be strapped on to helmets much like any chin guard on the market today.
Once applied, the GFT can record, report, and recreate all impacts to the head in real time. It’s “Eye in the Sky” can send notifications to coaches and trainers allowing them to make decisions that are not only immediate, but also accurate.
GFT Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Paul Walker, talked about how challenges exist in making safety-improving products while working with the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). “By embedding our impact sensing technology directly in the chin guard, a product category that for years has been sold and distributed by helmet companies and third party aftermarket suppliers, without any objections by NOCSAE, we have put the decision on player safety where it should be, in the hands of the end user.”
Walker also pointed out that anyone who is involved in the athlete’s care can make an informed decision to utilize head impact monitoring technology without having to worry about voiding warranties, or retaliation from outside groups. This means that parents, coaches and players themselves can simply strap on a GFT hi-tech chin guard and monitor impacts easier than before.
Gerry Iuliano, GFT’s Chief Technology Officer, had an interesting take on the product and what it means. He believes that this is just the beginning of a trend towards, “engineering the protective equipment worn by athletes to monitor both safety and overall performance,” If he is right, we could have one device determine real-time activity, body temperature, predict athlete energy reserves, monitor impacts and much more.
