Development of concussion evaluation tools using life-like virtual reality environments

Abstract

Concussions are a common type of traumatic brain injury that can have severe consequences. They are often induced by sports injuries, car accidents, and even falls. The high acceleration in these situations exert rotational forces on the brain that result in biomechanical injury and a malfunctioning metabolism. We propose a method to diagnose and check the progression of a concussion using virtual reality (VR) in conjunction with electromyography (EMG) and centre of mass (CoM) trajectory. The study will primarily focus on concussions sustained by varsity hockey players, with the hopes of expanding to athletes of other sports in the future.