Arizona program tracking youth concussions
Aug 22, 2012, 5:13 PM | Updated: 5:27 pm
Arizona is now home to the only program in the nation that is studying and keeping track of young athletes who suffer concussions.
The Barrow Neurological Institute will offer free testing to measure brain activity in Arizona athletes.
“The impact test will tell us whether or not the brain is moving at the right speed or the way it was before an injury and as well after an injury,” said Dr. Javier Cardenas.
In addition to tracking concussions, the program will also let athletes know when it is acceptable for them to return to their sport.
“It looks at the way the brain is thinking and the brain is working,” said Cardenas. “The test itself has a number of measures: visual memory, verbal memory, ways in which the brain is moving and its speed.”