Of the hundreds of thousands of apps that are available for the Apple iOS and the Google Android, how many are truly useful? That depends on how you look at it, but a better question might be how many have the potential to save a life? There are not many, but that trend is changing as it is becoming more obvious that smartphones and tablets are here to stay.
The Concussion Recognition and Response app from PAR Inc. is one such app and is designed specifically for coaches and parents to help them identify if an individual is exhibiting the signs and symptoms of a suspected concussion in under five minutes.
The Concussion Recognition and Response app was developed by Gerard A. Gioia, PhD, and Jason Mihalik, PhD, concussion specialists from the Children’s National Medical Center, to walk a parent or coach through a series of questions to determine whether to remove an athlete from play and if there is a need for further medical examination. Along with the answers, the app allows users to record pertinent information regarding an athlete’s name, age, gender and sport. This information can then be shared with the health care provider, via e-mail, along with the location of the injury tracked by the device’s GPS and any photos that are taken at the scene. If it is determined that the athlete did suffer a concussion, the app also provides a system for post-injury follow-up and Return-to-Play Guide based on information from the CDC.
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Along with helping coaches and parents recognize a concussion, the Concussion Recognition and Response app has additional tools. Concussion Information is provided through a FAQ guide to help parents and coaches make better, more informed decisions during the process of assessing a head injury. On the recovery end, the Home Symptom Monitoring allows a parent or caregiver to record an athlete’s progress through periodic evaluations, which are tracked in the hours, days or weeks following an injury.
The Concussion Recognition and Response app is available for the Apple iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android device or tablet. This app has an introductory price of $3.99 and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Android Market. PAR Inc. will donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this app to support concussion research at the Children‘s National Medical Center and the Matthew A. Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center. With the increased reports of sports related deaths due to head injuries, any app that helps determine this type of injury is worth having close at hand.
The Concussion Recognition and Response App Official Website