(7/6) Oklahoma Monitors Athletes to Alert of Head Injuries
Oklahoma Sooner Football Articles and Notes
Sooners using next generation helmets to monitor head injuries: At first glance, it looked like a typical, run-of-the-mill helmet. Face mask. Ear holes. Hard-plastic shell. But as [OU head trainer Scott] Anderson and members of the NCAA sports science committee watched Rick Greenwald's demonstration at the NFL combine two years ago, it became clear to the OU trainer he was getting a glimpse into the future. "The system does not diagnose head injuries," Greenwald said. "But it does provide an important tool for clinicians on the field. It could prevent further injury caused by repeated head trauma.” Greenwald's helmet is equipped with tiny airbags, scattered in between the foam padding. Each airbag serves as a sensor, the sensors are connected to a transmitter. At impact, the airbags process their signal through a complex algorithm devised by Greenwald. If the impact registers greater than 98G — units of gravity or G-force — the signal is transmitted wirelessly to a remote computer and medical staff receive an electronic page. All in a matter of seconds. "I was immediately intrigued from a head injury standpoint and a heat-related injury standpoint," Anderson said. The helmet is also outfitted with a tiny thermostat to measure head temperature. "We quickly got on board." At first, OU partnered with Greenwald's New Hampshire-based Simbex company on what Anderson called a "base level." The system is expensive -- Anderson estimated a 40-helmet set at more than $60,000 -- and is only available in Riddell Brand helmets. But a year later, almost every player on the Sooners' two-deep was equipped with HITS -- Head Impact Telemetry System. (More at the NewsOK.com)
OU Enters Agreement with KTUZ for first ever Spanish Broadcast: KTUZ-FM, La Zeta (106.7 FM) and Sooner Sports Properties have entered into an agreement for the first Spanish-speaking broadcast of a University of Oklahoma athletics event. The station will broadcast live the Oklahoma-Miami football game from Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8. Sooner Sports Properties is a division of Learfield Communications, which owns OU's athletics multi-media rights. Skip Stow, general manager of Tyler Media, which owns KTUZ, feels the time is right to embark on this venture. "With the majority of students now in the Oklahoma City public school system coming from Spanish dominant households we felt that now was the time to expand our sports coverage and offer our listeners University of Oklahoma football in Spanish," he said. OU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione said the new opportunity is exciting. "We recognize the presence and impact of the Spanish-speaking media and KTUZ specifically," he said. "It is obvious to us that the marketplace is evolving and we want to pursue these new opportunities. We see this as an avenue to expand a very large fan base and we are pleased that we can partner with Skip Stow. "We want Spanish-speaking citizens to know that we embrace them for our events and we will seek other ways to encourage their interaction with our programs." The broadcast team will be anchored by T-30 Sports Director Rene Nava. Color commentary will be handled by James Kopelman and the stats will be done by Gabriel Ocegueda. (SoonerSports.com)
Life after football: White's new life: Tulsa World
Sooners using next generation helmets to monitor head injuries: At first glance, it looked like a typical, run-of-the-mill helmet. Face mask. Ear holes. Hard-plastic shell. But as [OU head trainer Scott] Anderson and members of the NCAA sports science committee watched Rick Greenwald's demonstration at the NFL combine two years ago, it became clear to the OU trainer he was getting a glimpse into the future. "The system does not diagnose head injuries," Greenwald said. "But it does provide an important tool for clinicians on the field. It could prevent further injury caused by repeated head trauma.” Greenwald's helmet is equipped with tiny airbags, scattered in between the foam padding. Each airbag serves as a sensor, the sensors are connected to a transmitter. At impact, the airbags process their signal through a complex algorithm devised by Greenwald. If the impact registers greater than 98G — units of gravity or G-force — the signal is transmitted wirelessly to a remote computer and medical staff receive an electronic page. All in a matter of seconds. "I was immediately intrigued from a head injury standpoint and a heat-related injury standpoint," Anderson said. The helmet is also outfitted with a tiny thermostat to measure head temperature. "We quickly got on board." At first, OU partnered with Greenwald's New Hampshire-based Simbex company on what Anderson called a "base level." The system is expensive -- Anderson estimated a 40-helmet set at more than $60,000 -- and is only available in Riddell Brand helmets. But a year later, almost every player on the Sooners' two-deep was equipped with HITS -- Head Impact Telemetry System. (More at the NewsOK.com)
OU Enters Agreement with KTUZ for first ever Spanish Broadcast: KTUZ-FM, La Zeta (106.7 FM) and Sooner Sports Properties have entered into an agreement for the first Spanish-speaking broadcast of a University of Oklahoma athletics event. The station will broadcast live the Oklahoma-Miami football game from Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Sept. 8. Sooner Sports Properties is a division of Learfield Communications, which owns OU's athletics multi-media rights. Skip Stow, general manager of Tyler Media, which owns KTUZ, feels the time is right to embark on this venture. "With the majority of students now in the Oklahoma City public school system coming from Spanish dominant households we felt that now was the time to expand our sports coverage and offer our listeners University of Oklahoma football in Spanish," he said. OU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Director of Athletics Joe Castiglione said the new opportunity is exciting. "We recognize the presence and impact of the Spanish-speaking media and KTUZ specifically," he said. "It is obvious to us that the marketplace is evolving and we want to pursue these new opportunities. We see this as an avenue to expand a very large fan base and we are pleased that we can partner with Skip Stow. "We want Spanish-speaking citizens to know that we embrace them for our events and we will seek other ways to encourage their interaction with our programs." The broadcast team will be anchored by T-30 Sports Director Rene Nava. Color commentary will be handled by James Kopelman and the stats will be done by Gabriel Ocegueda. (SoonerSports.com)
Harris Belonged on List: The Oklahoman
Life after football: White's new life: Tulsa World
Labels: Next Generation, Oklahoma Sooners, Radio, University of Oklahoma
