Biotech company HeadFirst is improving how concussions are screened in contact sports with a simple spit test.
The company was co-founded in 2022 by University of Waterloo alum Andrew Cordssen-David (BSc ’22, MBET ’23) and Dr. Shazia Tanvir, a professor in Waterloo’s chemical engineering department. The HeadFirst device analyzes biomarkers in saliva that indicate brain injury and delivers results in real-time.
Through a partnership with Waterloo Athletics, HeadFirst is advancing research on its saliva-based device using samples from various University sports teams.
Tanvir said the device could play a critical role once clinical trials were complete. She noted that testing saliva-based biomarkers is non-invasive and provides an objective result that can be used alongside other assessments to help athletic therapists make informed decisions at the point of care.
“A lot of concussion screening today is still guesswork because of the subjectivity of current assessments,” Cordssen-David said. “What we’re doing is adding the first objective test into the toolkit of athletic and health-care professionals.”
Cordssen-David credited Waterloo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, including the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business and Velocity, for helping transform an early idea into a growing business venture.
Go to Rapid concussion detection using saliva for the full story.