This is a guest story by Patrick Ward, the Event Organizer for the Elite Sports Performance Exhibition.
During the Iraq War, Eric Luster’s contributions to mission critical operations earned him a Bronze Star. Now the U.S. Army veteran is taking on a new challenge: advancing high-tech solutions as a nontraditional student.
“One of the biggest obstacles is that I don’t fit the mold of a startup CEO or entrepreneur,” said Eric, who points out that he’s a thirty-something still enrolled in school.
But Eric isn’t just any student. In 2013, the computer whiz decided to develop impact-detecting sensors that help coaches and players better understand the consequences of head trauma. The sensors became called the Hiji Band and they are designed to fit comfortably inside a football helmet where the computer software will automatically collect data from the sensors and send real-time alerts to medical personnel on their mobile or wireless devices.
With traumatic brain injuries becoming a growing concern in the military and the National Football League, Eric’s commitment has the potential to help head trauma’s youngest victims. “My CGI U commitment is centered on the world’s youth,” said Eric, who has a 12-year-old son. “I feel that if we can identify injuries to the brain as early as possible, we can make staying active safer for our youth.”
Hiji Band was created to detect and report Traumatic Brain Injury in youth sports. Not only do we have a cool, customizable wearable technology, but we have also developed an app that partners with the Hiji Band to report on all brain injury-related activity to ensure parents, coaches, and athletes are aware of any damage that has been caused during practice or games so they can take the necessary precautions.
The Hiji Band will be exhibited at The Elite Sports Performance Expo June 10th and 11th in London.
Eric is speaking at the Expo, which will be a great opportunity to see first hand how this wearable technology has begun to take off and been used by athletes competing at the top level of sports.
