Pathways: New App Supports Improved Concussion Diagnosis

UICOMP faculty Adam Cross, MD, developed an app, called FlightPath, as a solution for improved concussion diagnosis.

Adam Cross, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics, desired a better solution for concussion diagnosis. Concussion diagnosis can be tricky, and evaluation tools are subjective and time consuming. Current methods rely on symptom reporting by athletes whose objectivity may be swayed by a desire to return to play. Cross says the single greatest risk factor for prolonged recovery is delayed diagnosis.

Timely Diagnosis Improves Recovery, Outcomes

“We need a better way to identify the signs and symptoms of concussion, and it needs to be fast, portable, and objective,” says Cross. The tool must be accessible near the playing field or court and must deliver unbiased, concrete data quickly. That is what led to the development of FlightPath, an app that uses extended reality as a tool to detect the clinical signs of concussion. With further testing and research, Cross envisions the app used by trainers and medical providers to facilitate the diagnosis of concussion. Testing is currently underway at Illinois State, Bradley and Illinois Wesleyan universities to compare FlightPath to current methods.

Current testing does not involve use of the app for decision-making, but rather analyzes FlightPath data through the lens of current testing standards to identify physiological biomarkers of neurocognitive impairment, Cross says.

Cross is dual board-certified in both pediatrics and clinical informatics. His expertise is applying the principles of innovation to solving problems in healthcare. FlightPath was grant-funded through Jump Applied Research in Community Health through Engineering and Simulation (ARCHES). Jump ARCHES is a research collaborative that partners clinicians and engineers together to improve patient outcomes and solve problems related to healthcare. Co-lead on the project is Inki Kim with the Health Care Engineering Systems Center at the Grainer College of Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

To use the app, the player holds and maneuvers an iPad attempting to follow the movement of a hummingbird by encircling the hummingbird within a bubble on the screen. Using extended reality (XR) technology, the hummingbird appears to unpredictably fly and hover in the real world, using the screen as a viewfinder. The interaction lasts two minutes while FlightPath gathers numerous data elements at a frequency of 60 times per second, resulting in tens of thousands of data points. This data collected evaluates balance, attention span, reaction time, coordination, and more to provide objective assessments regarding concussion.

Cross is hopeful that FlightPath could become a “better yardstick” for concussion. “It can provide earlier and more reliable detection of concussion, avoid prolonged recovery time due to delayed diagnosis, and provide better prognostication,” he says.

Dr. Adam Cross demonstrates the FlightPath app

About Concussions

A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury that temporarily affects the function of the brain. Symptoms may be obvious and develop immediately, or they may be subtle and develop up to 48 hours or more after the incident. Symptoms may last for days, weeks, or much longer. Ignoring signs of concussion can be a health risk, and a delay in diagnosis can prolong recovery and delay the patient’s return to normal activity.

Further complicating the diagnosis of concussion is the desire for many athletes to return to normal play which leads to ignoring or under-reporting symptoms. This is problematic since strenuous activity soon after a concussion is associated with worsening symptoms, and research indicates that players removed from activity following a concussion recovered twice as fast as athletes who continued to play.

This article is part of the Fall/Winter 2024-2025 issue of Pathways magazine.