Investigating Sports Related Concussion with a Wearable In-Ear System for Continuous Monitoring of Brain and Body Functions

Supervisors

Danilo Mandic (Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
David Sharp (Brain Sciences)

This project aims to develop an in-the-ear (ITE) platform for discreet, unobtrusive, and continuous monitoring of brain function (electroencephalography - EEG) and body functions (pulse, respiration, temperature, movement).

Once developed, the system will have many potential applications, from EEG recording in an intensive care setting through to the recording of the immediate effects of sports injuries on brain function.

The proposed work will:

(i) establish the biophysics behind ITE monitoring of physiological responses,
(ii) integrate the EEG and vital sign sensors into a working prototype,
(iii) test the ITE system’s ability to acutely monitor the acute effects of Sports Related Consussion, in the context of Rugby.

There is increasing concern about the effects of sporting head injuries. Repeated minor injuries both cause immediate concussive symptoms, and in some individuals more prolonged effects including dementia.

The immediate aftermath of head injuries in sports is currently largely uncharted territory due to the lack of suitable recording devices, yet this stage is critical in the assessment of the injury and eventual recovery. The proposed work will, for the first time, provide a device that allows the immediate effects of sporting concussions to be measured.

Visit www.commsp.ee.ic.ac.uk/~mandic for further details of Professor Mandic's research.

Student

Tim Kirby