OU Uses Special Helmets To Monitor Impacts

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ The University of Oklahoma and Casady High School in Oklahoma City are among 15 schools participating in a research study on head impacts in football. <br/><br/>Players for football

Friday, July 6th 2007, 11:27 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) _ The University of Oklahoma and Casady High School in Oklahoma City are among 15 schools participating in a research study on head impacts in football.

Players for football teams at the two schools are using special helmets with tiny airbags that serve as sensors to monitor the force of each impact.

Orthopedic surgeon and OU resident Brock Schnebel led the study, which compares the frequency and magnitude of impacts between college and high school football players.

Forty members of OU's 105-man roster and 16 members of Casady's 53-man roster were outfitted with the helmets.

The study found college players sustain much greater impacts and that skill position players sustain high-level injuries more frequently than linemen.