Recently, as discussed in my first blog entry, the NFL has come under scrutiny for not properly addressing the rise in player concussions (and subsequent dementia later in life). We have come to discover that it's not only the big hits (with a subsequent concussion) that cause serious damage - but brain damage can also results from many, many small hits. Many examples of pathologists taking biopsies of brain tissue from longtime "casual" football players (individuals that never came close to playing professional football - and never reported any concussion) show that football-related brain damage can occur from seemingly benign impact (see reference #2). I'd like to propose inserting into the players' helmets and padding small sensors that can continually monitor (by assessing the force associated with any impact) the total number of collisions. In this way, we can know, real-time, how much potential damage these players have been exposed to and whether to limit their playing time. If we see that a certain player has withstood, for example, a threshold of 1000 Newtons of force maybe we decide to pull him from the game and limit the damage (similar to how radiologists keep a monitor on them to ensure they don't get exposed to too much radiation). These sensors, in addition to ensuring player safety, may potentially be able to do a wider variety of things. Firstly, they can potentially monitor player's actions to assess their running patterns and determine whether the player is effectively moving according to their pre-assigned routes, how fast they're moving and whether there's any correlation between changes in their route-running and the type of play they've designed. Secondly many football arguments come down to poor referee decision-making - perhaps these sensors can aid in referee decisions. For example, in some cases its unclear whether or not a player has successfully crossed into the endzone (to score a touchdown) - with sensors located on their body we can potentially monitor their location and evaluate whether the player has adequately crossed the end zone.
The idea of monitoring and transferring information wirelessly is not novel. It's been done in across many different fields and endeavors. However, the ability to intelligently synthesize that data in order to better inform decision-making is not a concept that has gained much traction in the world of football. Hopefully, this will soon change.
References
1) Sauser B. Analyzing Hard Hits on the Football Field. MIT Tech Review. Oct 1, 2010. Retrieved online from http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/26425/?a=f
2) Gelston D. University of Pennsylvania Football Player had signs of trauma-induced brain disease. Huffington Post. Sep 14, 2010. Retrieved online from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/14/owen-thomas-autopsy-revea_n_715878.html
