Think You Have a Concussion? There's an App for That

Sign No. 482,107 that smartphones are taking over the world: You can now use one to determine whether you have a concussion. A doctor at UNC teamed up with other head-trauma researchers to developed an app that helps determine the likelihood of a concussion. After the user answers a series of questions, the app presents said likelihood and can email information to a doctor.

Who would get the most use out of this app? Likely non-professional sports teams who experience a great deal of concussion-like symptoms but may only have an athletic trainer on hand instead of a team doctor. "The documentation (of immediate symptoms) is very important,” says a representative from the National Athletic Trainers' Association, “From, 'how did they get hurt?' … to 'how did they progress over time?' It's not only what happens at the time of the injury, but how things change." (More smartphone app stories.)