The LSU athletic training department teamed up with Head Health Network to create a smart fabric in football helmets to detect concussions. 
When players receive a hit on the field, the information is transferred from the smart fabric to trainers on the sideline in real time. Curtis Cruz of Head Health Network showed in a recent demonstration that when pressure is applied inside of the helmet, the location and severity of the hit is illustrated on a computer. 
“The sensors make a huge difference,” Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer Lauren Norton said. “If we see a hit out at practice, we can go straight to the computer and within three minutes, pull up the force of the hit that that guy took and where it was on the helmet.”
The athletic training department keeps a record of all players, documenting the number of hits taken during games and practice. Each player has their own profile to evaluate individual head injuries.
“There’s a lot of things that they are doing inside the Athletic Training Department to get that edge, get players back on the field faster,” former linebacker DJ Welter said. 
Twenty-four of the players now have this smart fabric in their helmets in order to monitor the big blows, as well as the small successive hits that could cause just as much damage long-term.
“I’ve seen a number of different universities and professional teams and LSU really stands out as being one of the most on the forefront of doing things in a progressive way and stepping out and doing more than what is the standard,” Cruz said.