Baylor Scott & White Texas Spine and Joint Hospital in Tyler partnered with HitCheck, a cognitive assessment app, to bring mobile concussion tests to the sidelines for student athletes across the state, the hospital announced Oct. 28.
The hospital deploys athletic trainers to games throughout Texas to provide assistance should an incident occur or an injury be suspected. The app allows them to quickly administer cognitive assessments based on standardized testing methods.
The app features several tests, each measuring a specific aspect of brain function, including memory, coordination and reaction time. It also records results and compares them to an individual's prior performance.
"We don't have to reserve a computer lab to baseline or monitor athletes, and we have the ability to check an entire team in 20 minutes or less," Daniel Fuller, the hospital's director of sports medicine outreach said in a news release. "The app gives us data that we as athletic trainers can evaluate and share with the physician attending to the athlete."