Think “non-contact” makes ice hockey a safer sport? A study released Wednesday showed that even in women’s non-contact NCAA ice hockey, concussion-level hits are dangerously high.

This week (Jan 25 & 26) the developers of the Shockbox Helmet Impact Sensor will present their findings at the Ontario Medical Association Sport Med 2013 conference in Toronto, ON. The Shockbox wirelessly sends impact data to your smartphone when a player receives an at risk hit that may result in concussion.This helmet sensor is a vital tool for concussion management.

The study showed the chances for concussions are still relatively high during a normal season.

A total of 80 direct helmet impacts were recorded across 19 players in a 3 month period. Over this three month period, a total of 4 concussions were reported by the team staff, for which all were recorded by the helmet sensors. One of the reported concussions was the result of a player collision, two were the result of a fall to the ice and the remaining was the result of a player and board collision. The application of helmet sensors in ice hockey games and practices has been shown to provide real time and longitudinal data on direct head impact exposure levels to ice hockey players.

– Bill Bradley, contributing editor