Pac-12 Concussion Coordinating Unit (PCCU)
The PCCU was funded in the fall of 2017.
The primary duties of the PCCU are to faciliate and support data collection across the Pac-12 as part of the Pac-12 CARE Affiliated Project (CAP). This will involve designing the procedures for data collection, training data coordinators at each institution and establish common data collection practices while ensuring the security and privacy of student-athlete data. In addition, the PCCU will work closely with data storage vendors and institutions to ensure quality control and completeness of data collected.
The SyncThink platform is used across the Pac-12 for data collection which includes traditional assessments such as the SCAT5 and BESS deployed via a tablet, but also includes innovative measures of oculomotor and vestibular function through its proprietary eye-tracking technology. Data coordinators at each Pac-12 institution are equipped with the SyncThink platform to collect concussion-related data at a baseline timepoint as well as following a suspected concussion for all student-athletes. The platform allows for a consistent, efficient and harmonized data collection process across the Pac-12 which will directly impact clinical care as well as establish a research platform to address important scientific questions surrounding sport-related concussions.
EyeSync is the component of the SyncThink platorm used to test oculomotor function using VR goggles. In the event of a suspected concussion, the athlete will look into the goggles and be tasked with following a dot around the screen with his or her eyes. Cameras in the goggles will record eye movement, and deviation from the dot's path or anticipatory eye movement will be quantified.
The data collected will be used to conduct collaborative epidemiolgical studies on sport-related concussion as well as guide best clinical practices following sport-related concussion. Coupled with the larger NCAA CARE Consoritium, collectively, this will be the largest and most comprehensive study on sport-related concussion to date.