CFL implements new player health and safety measures with HeadCheck Health
TORONTO — The Canadian Football League (CFL) announced on Wednesday a new partnership with Vancouver-based HeadCheck Health, Inc. (HeadCheck) to bring all teams onto an innovative digital concussion platform.
HeadCheck’s mobile and web-based technology will equip team medical staff with the tools to more easily execute the CFL’s concussion protocol and enable the league to monitor the effectiveness of the protocol in real-time.
“We’re delighted to partner with HeadCheck as part of our ongoing commitment to player health and safety,” said Kevin McDonald, the CFL’s Vice-President of Football Operations and Player Safety. “Their application streamlines our record keeping and that’s an important element of consistent and comprehensive care. Our medical and training staff are second to none. Providing them with the best tools helps to ensure that we can deliver the very best to our world class athletes.”
The partnership will see all nine CFL teams use the HeadCheck digital platform from a phone, tablet, or computer to execute baseline, sideline, and post-injury concussion assessments as per the CFL’s concussion protocol. To improve informed data-driven decision making, team medical staff will have access to their player’s concussion history and utilize comparable data when performing sideline or post-injury concussion assessments. The use of a digital platform will make it easier for concussion records to follow players from team-to-team and for aggregate data to be analyzed for identifying player safety improvements.
“As a home-grown Canadian company that started out of the research lab with University Football players, we couldn’t be happier to be working with the top football brand in our country,” said Harrison Brown, CEO of HeadCheck Health, Inc. “We’re excited to build a long-term relationship with the league and showcase at the biggest stage our ability to make a difference in player safety.”
The digital platform, training, and support will be provided in both French and English languages and will meet all top line health and safety privacy standards in Canada and the United States. In addition to the platform, HeadCheck will also provide de-identified aggregate data with reporting on testing activity, concussion activity, and insights into any areas for potential player safety improvements surrounding protocol effectiveness. The company also provided technology training and on-site support at CFL training camps to ensure the successful collection of all baseline data through the platform.