King-Devick’s oculomotor testing combines effectively with ImPACT neurocognitive testing.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL – ImPACT Applications, Inc., developer of the ImPACT Test and ImPACT Concussion Management Model, today announced a partnership with King-Devick (K-D) Test to promote a multidimensional approach to assessing concussions in athletes. K-D Test is a rapid and easy-to-administer sideline assessment tool for the evaluation of impaired eye movements, language, concentration and neurological functions that are a result of concussion.
The partnership announcement coincides with new independent research that reaffirms existing research regarding the validity and reliability of K-D Test for effective remove-from-play concussion sideline assessment, along with the validity and reliability of ImPACT neurocognitive testing as a cornerstone in concussion management for return-to-play decisions.
Findings in a new study, “Comparison and Utility of King-Devick and ImPACT Composite Scores in Adolescent Concussion Patients,” published online August 16, 2013 in the Journal of the Neurological Sciences, not only support using K-D testing in an acute setting such as sideline assessment, but also as part of a multidimensional approach to assessing concussion status, in tandem with other tools such as ImPACT, to help determine safe return to play.
ImPACT is the most-widely used and most scientifically validated computerized concussion evaluation system. ImPACT provides trained clinicians with neurocognitive assessment tools and services that have been medically accepted as state-of-the-art best practices, as part of determining safe return to play decisions. The recent introduction of ImPACT’s iOS mobile applications – the PCSI™ (Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory) and Sideline ImPACT® — means that tools from ImPACT can be used at the site of a potential injury for sideline assessment if a concussion is suspected.
While not designed to function as diagnostic tests, the mobile apps extend the science behind ImPACT directly to the playing field to help collect, record, access and measure cognitive data as part of an overall concussion management protocol. The data can combine with K-D Test data to inform remove-from-play decisions. And as the new research suggests, ImPACT and K-D Test data can work well together for clinicians evaluating safe return-to-play decisions.
“ImPACT concurs with the growing body of research that suggests one single tool cannot screen all the ways that a concussion may present, but a combination of neurocognitive, ocular and vestibular screening at the sidelines can effectively help determine removal from play,” said Michael Wahlster, chief executive officer of ImPACT. “ImPACT has developed a partnership with K-D Test to make it easier for these best-in-class tools to be utilized together across the continuum of concussion management.”
The K-D Test is an affordable two-minute sideline concussion screening test that requires an athlete to read single digit numbers displayed on test cards or a standard-sized iPad with the K-D Test Pro iPad app. Additionally, the King-Devick Test Online System allows for convenient and secure computerized testing. K-D Test provides objective baseline and post-injury data for quick comparison and can assist coaches, athletic trainers, medical professionals and parents in determining when athletes should be removed from games.
The King-Devick Test is widely supported by published neurological research as an accurate and reliable method for identifying athletes with concussion. “The partnership between King-Devick Test and ImPACT highlights the need for schools and organizations to utilize both remove-from-play and return-to-play concussion management tools to ensure the safety of all athletes,” said Steve Devick chief executive officer of King-Devick Test.
The partnership between ImPACT and K-D Test provides customers with an option to purchase one of three unique and highly affordable K-D Test package offerings that have been developed expressly to complement ImPACT. Learn more at: http://www.impacttest.com/
“From training to clinical evaluations and at the sidelines of play, we believe it is important to continuously seek the most effective, medically accepted solutions to evolve the science of concussion management. King Devick is a best-in-class partner,” noted Wahlster.
About ImPACT
Developed by clinical experts who pioneered the field, ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) is the most scientifically validated computerized neurocognitive evaluation system used by teams, organizations and individuals globally. ImPACT is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and provides tools such as the ImPACT Concussion Management Model to address the need for an accurate, medically accepted assessment system as part of an overall concussion management protocol. ImPACT is constantly updating products and its industry-leading training content by integrating new research, evaluating input from experts and users, and conducting ongoing research on concussion rehabilitation methods. For more information, please visit www.impacttest.com.
About King-Devick Test
The King-Devick Test (K-D Test) was developed more than 25 years ago and has been used worldwide as a proven indicator of saccadic eye movements as they relate to reading using Rapid Number Naming. Elite neurological journals have called the King-Devick Test an “accurate and reliable method for identifying athletes with head trauma.” Other studies have proven King-Devick Test to help determine neurological functionality in: Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, extreme sleep deprivation, and hypoxia. More information can be found at: www.kingdevicktest.com.