Son's Concussion Inspires Lodi Man To Start Business Testing Athletes Before Injuries Happen
LODI (CBS13) — A Lodi-based company is testing the brain function of young athletes to give them a head's-up on concussions.
The baseline exams will give doctors a point of comparison if the athletes suffer a head injury.
Jim Carter with Baseline Administrators says the test is like having insurance, and a preparatory measure testing an athlete's reaction time, memory and speed.
His son Tanner Carter was in the seventh grade when he was carted off the football field with a concussion.
"While he was in the ER for treatment the pediatric neurosurgeon came in and asked us, had we ever given our son a baseline test. And our answer was no," Carter said.
That trip sparked an idea for Carter that soon turned into a 45-foot mobile clinic for athletes just like Tanner.
"By having an athlete take a pre-season baseline test, what we're getting is a fully healthy patient, at their optimal levels of functioning neuro-cognitively, which is the primary affected area during a concussion if it were to occur," he said.
The company can set up at any school or practice facility. With 23 work stations, teams go through a series of six online test that evaluate short- and long-term memory and cross-reference it with reaction time and accuracy.
"You have to not only recognize their shape, but you also have to recognize their orientation," Carter said.
And the testing isn't exclusive to those who play football—baseball, soccer and basketball players and coaches are also using the technology.
"Cheerleaders who tumble and toss and do stunting are definitely in that category as well. I've had parents of water polo players approach me," he said.
The approach for parents is peace of mind knowing they have a wealth of emergency information to give doctors before their children get back in the game.
The price tag ranges between $13 and $35 depending on the number of athletes being tested.