New technology from Velocity’s HeadFirst can measure concussion biomarkers in saliva and give sports leagues a new way to protect their players
HeadFirst, a company at Velocity, the University of Waterloo’s startup incubator, has developed a way to test for concussions using a simple saliva test. The process provides a rapid and accurate way to detect mild traumatic brain injuries.
The startup’s technology advances the traditional concussion tests that are largely subjective and could give athletes a way to circumvent a head trauma diagnosis, which ultimately leaves these injuries undetected and untreated. HeadFirst has developed a saliva-based concussion test to equip athletic departments, sports organizations, and healthcare facilities with objective results to treat athletes proportional to their injuries.
HeadFirst’s CEO and co-founder Andrew Cordssen-David was inspired to find a better way of testing concussions after playing competitive hockey for many years. An athlete’s competitive nature often incentivizes them to downplay symptoms to pass standard concussion tests and remain in the game, he said.
“I’ve gone through the subjective tests that exist today and I know that athletes are able to find a way around them to stay in the game,” Cordssen-David said. “What’s even more concerning is that up to half of these tests sometimes fail to detect concussions. The idea for HeadFirst began during my time studying at Waterloo where I asked myself, ‘Why do these subjective concussion tests consistently fail to identify concussions.’”
He co-founded HeadFirst with Shazia Tanvir, a scientist at the University of Waterloo, and developed the new saliva-based tests after Cordssen-David uncovered research that showed concussed brains release biomarkers that can pass through the blood-brain barrier and into saliva.
“We targeted biomarkers in saliva because it’s non-invasive and easy to test right on the sidelines of the playing field,” Cordssen-David said.
Similar to a COVID-19 saliva test, a concussed person spits into a receptacle and two lines appear to mark a positive result, or one line for a negative. Cordssen-David said other neurological and visual tests that are used to detect concussions following a brain injury aren’t accurate enough and are more costly than what HeadFirst’s tests are expected to cost.
An example of a negative concussion test using HeadFirst's saliva-based test (top) and one demonstrating a positive result of HeadFirst's concussion test using synthetic saliva that includes unique biomarkers to trigger a positive test for concussion. (Nicola Kelly / University of Waterloo)
Without proper diagnosing and treating a concussion, athletes – particularly those in high-impact sports like hockey, American football, and boxing – are at a higher risk of developing neurological conditions like chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Parkinson’s or dementia later in life.
“When you break your arm, you can’t move it, but when you get a concussion, you might feel a little dizzy, take a painkiller and try to push through it,” said Cordssen-David. “But you don’t realize that your brain is your greatest asset for sport and your life, and you get only one. You need to protect it.”
Marc Aucoin, a professor at Waterloo’s Department of Chemical Engineering, was the first to share the biomarker research behind HeadFirst’s technology with Cordssen-David, and has since worked closely with him and his team to develop the company’s concussion test prototype.
“I’ve been involved with my sons’ hockey and lacrosse teams and I’ve seen first-hand how challenging concussions have been with kids who play these competitive sports,” he said. “Having a concussion test made by HeadFirst available would go a long way to ensuring the safety and long-term health of an athlete involved in youth and professional sports.”
Ben Fanelli, a former University of Waterloo hockey coach who suffered a catastrophic brain injury while playing for the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers, lauded the technological breakthrough behind HeadFirst’s concussion tests.
“Athletes, and most people passionate about their career, almost have an automatic response to keep going and push through pain and injury, and in sport there is a lot of apprehension around concussion because in many cases it’s an intangible injury,” Fanelli said. “Any reliable tool or program to diagnose concussion will allow everyone in the sport to fulfill their roles whether it be the athletes themselves, staff or coaches.”
HeadFirst is currently conducting a pilot study with the University of Waterloo’s Athletic Department to further validate the company’s technology. Following regulatory approval from Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the company aims to soon sell tests directly to athletic departments, concussion clinics, sports organizations, and health care facilities.
About Velocity
Velocity accelerates entrepreneurs' growth from idea to early-stage start-up and beyond. These founders have access to unmatched resources, collaboration space, funding, and an expansive and experienced network made possible only by the University of Waterloo — Canada's top university for founders. In the 15 years since its inception as a University of Waterloo residence, more than 400 Velocity companies have generated more than US$26 billion in enterprise value.
