On-field Head Acceleration Exposure Measurements Using Instrumented Mouthguards: Multi-stage Screening to Optimize...

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Biomechanics
• Data Science

Background:

• Instrumented mouthguards (iMGs) are used to measure head acceleration events (HAEs) in sports, but on-field data accuracy is limited by sensor decoupling and spurious recordings.
• Video analysis offers complementary data but lacks quantitative kinematics and is subjective.
• Improving the accuracy of on-field HAE measurements is crucial for understanding brain injury risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a rigorous multi-stage screening procedure combining iMG and video data for improved on-field HAE exposure measurement quality.
• To establish a robust method for verifying and filtering HAE data collected during live sports events.

Main Methods:

• A four-stage screening process was developed and applied to data from a university men's ice hockey season.
• Stage I involved independent collection of iMG acceleration events (AEs) and video HAEs.
• Stages II-IV included general screening, cross-verification, and coupling verification between iMG and video data.

Main Results:

• The screening process reduced the number of validated HAEs to approximately 2.5% of initial iMG AEs.
• Fewer than 1/5 of video HAEs were cross-verified with iMG data.
• Peak linear and angular accelerations were significantly reduced (median linear acceleration from 36.0 to 10.9 g; median angular acceleration from 3922 to 942 rad/s²), indicating reduced kinematic noise.

Conclusions:

• The proposed rigorous screening process effectively improves the quality and reliability of on-field HAE exposure data.
• This method enhances the accuracy of kinematic measurements, crucial for investigating the relationship between HAEs and potential brain injury.
• Ensuring high-quality HAE data is essential for advancing research on sports-related brain injuries.