ST and X2 celebrate shipment of 5,000th concussion sensor system

GENEVA. SWITZERLAND: As millions of fall sports participants take to the field to kick off the 2013 sports season, players in a wide range of activities are wearing electronic head-impact monitoring patches ("xPatches") developed by X2 Biosystems with advanced technology from STMicroelectronics.

In addition to surpassing the milestone of 5,000 xPatch sensor systems shipped, the X2 Biosystems' Integrated Concussion Exam (ICE) software has been adopted by a broader audience. This customer list includes the NFL (National Football League), which has mandated the use of the X2 ICE in all practices and games of all 32 teams this season.

A cloud-connected mobile application environment, the X2 ICE captures athlete concussion history and pre-season neuro-cognitive function, balance, and coordinate-performance data, which is then used as a baseline for comparison after a suspected injury event.

The X2 xPatch uses miniature sensors to monitor the impacts experienced by each player and transmits data to X2's ICE software where sideline staff can examine it in context of the individual athlete's recent impact history and lifetime concussion history.

X2 Biosystems worked with STMicroelectronics to build the wearable xPatches, which are smaller than an American Quarter (25-cent piece). They incorporate ST's tiny MEMS motion-sensing chips, ultra low-power STM32L microcontroller, SPIRIT1 low-power radio transmitter, and miniature power-supply and battery-charging ICs.