[Source: NewsObserver.com]

High school coaches in North Carolina are supposed to remove players from practice or games if they are suspected of having had a concussion. The players are not to return until after being cleared by a medical professional.

A new smartphone application should help coaches at all levels make informed decisions about whether a player has received a brain injury and needs to sit out. The app provides a way to evaluate signs and symptoms of a concussion, suggests an immediate course of action, stores data and even emails the evaluation to physicians, trainers, school officials, care givers or others.

"This is a tool that can help coaches make an informed decision about a player's condition," said Dr. Jason Mihalik, an assistant professor at the Matthew Gfeller Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at the University of North Carolina who co-authored the application. "It does not diagnosis a concussion, but it helps evaluate a player."

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