(Photo Credit: Prevent Biometrics)

Researchers at the Institut national du sport du Québec (INS Québec), in collaboration with researchers at McGill University and the École de technologie supérieure (ETS), are studying the falls of short-track speed skating athletes to better understand head impacts. A report by Gino Harel on Radio-Canada’s Les années lumières highlights this research. To listen to the segment, broadcast on Sunday, November 6, click on this link.

A group of athletes from the Canadian National Team and the NextGen team, the latter being composed of up-and-coming athletes, have agreed to participate in the research project by wearing a connected mouthguard during their training sessions.

The goal of this research is to capture data from real-life falls to later create a new helmet prototype to better prevent injuries. Why a mouthguard? According to the researchers, it is the best place to measure the movements that the brain undergoes. The data collected from athletes’ falls, even if they do not lead to concussions, will be used in laboratory simulations to recreate the impact of a fall in order to propose a new helmet prototype.