Brain Saver

COURTESY OF Q-COLLAR

TEST RUN: A soccer player wears a Q-Collar during a game. The device behind her ear helps measure the impact of hits.

Contact sports can be dangerous. Even small hits to the head can cause concussions, or brain injuries. But a new device, called a Q-Collar, may help keep athletes safe. The collar presses on the jugular vein, which carries blood from the head. This traps a small amount of blood in the brain, cushioning the organ “like an air bag,” says Gregory Myer, a sports medicine researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in Ohio. Myer recently found that the device helped protect high school soccer players from head injuries.

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