# US 10,244,971 B2 · Mouthguard for analysis of biomarkers for traumatic brain injury > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,244,971 B2 - Document ID: US10244971B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/709,570 - Filed: 2015-05-12 - Published: 2016-11-17 - Granted: 2019-04-02 - Earliest claimed: 2015-05-12 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: James R. Kozloski; Mark C. H. Lamorey; Clifford A. Pickover; John J. Rice - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10244971B2 ## CPC - A61B 5/14546: {for measuring analytes not otherwise provided for, e.g. ions, cytochromes} - A42B 3/046: {Means for detecting hazards or accidents} - A61B 5/0002: {Remote monitoring of patients using telemetry, e.g. transmission of vital signals via a communication network (endoradiosondes A61B5/07)} - A61B 5/4064: {Evaluating the brain (for intracranial pressure A61B5/031; for cerebral blood gases A61B5/14553; using EEG A61B5/369)} - A61B 5/6803: {Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles} - A61B 5/682: {Mouth, e.g., oral cavity; tongue; Lips; Teeth} - A61B 5/7275: {Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor} - A61B 5/746: {Alarms related to a physiological condition, e.g. details of setting alarm thresholds or avoiding false alarms} - A61B 10/0051: {for taking saliva or sputum samples (devices for receiving spittle A61J9/00)} - G16H 40/63: for local operation - G16H 50/20: for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems - A61B 2562/0219: Inertial sensors, e.g. accelerometers, gyroscopes, tilt switches - A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D) - A42B: HATS; HEAD COVERINGS (headbands A41D20/00; head-scarves A41D23/00) - G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA ## Abstract Embodiments include methods, systems and computer program products for monitoring a user of a helmet for traumatic brain injury. Aspects include obtaining a saliva specimen from a mouthguard and providing the saliva specimen to a lab on chip. Aspects further include determining whether the saliva specimen contains a biomarker that indicates the user suffered a traumatic brain injury and creating an alert that the user of the helmet has suffered a traumatic brain injury. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer program product for monitoring a user for traumatic brain injuries, the computer program product comprising: a non-transitory storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method comprising: determining that the user has suffered a severe impact; instructing a sensor to obtain a saliva specimen from a mouthguard and to provide the saliva specimen to a lab on chip, wherein obtaining the saliva specimen from the mouthguard is performed after a delay period from the severe impact, wherein the delay is determined based on a severity of the severe impact experienced by the user; analyzing the saliva specimen for one or more biomarkers; and creating an alert that the user of the mouthguard may have suffered a traumatic brain injury, wherein the alert includes an indication of the one or more biomarkers, a concentration of the one or more biomarkers and an identification of the user. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the lab on chip is disposed within the mouthguard. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the lab on chip is disposed within a helmet that is in fluid communication with the mouthguard. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the determination that the user has suffered a severe impact is based on a determination that a helmet worn by the user has experienced an acceleration above a threshold amount. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The computer program product of claim 4, wherein the threshold amount is based upon a medical history of the user. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the delay is further determined based on a medical history of the user. ### Claim 7 A system for monitoring a user for traumatic brain injuries comprising: a lab on chip configured to receive a saliva specimen from a mouthguard and to analyze the saliva specimen to identify one or more biomarkers; a processor configured to communicate with the lab on chip, wherein the processor creates an alert that the user of the mouthguard may have suffered a traumatic brain injury, wherein the processor instructs the lab on chip to obtain the saliva specimen from the mouthguard in response to a determination that the user has experienced an acceleration above a threshold amount, wherein the saliva specimen is obtained after a delay period from the acceleration above the threshold amount, wherein the delay is determined based on a severity of the acceleration above the threshold amount experienced by the user, and wherein the alert includes an indication of the one or more biomarkers, a concentration of the one or more biomarkers and an identification of the user. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the lab on chip is disposed within the mouthguard. ### Claim 9 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the lab on chip is disposed within a helmet that is in fluid communication with the mouthguard. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The system of claim 9, wherein the processor is disposed within the helmet and wherein the helmet includes an accelerometer. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the threshold amount is based upon a medical history of the user. ### Claim 12 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the delay is further determined based on a medical history of the user.