Could something as simple as reading a series of numbers on 3 cards determine whether an athlete has suffered a concussion? The Mayo Clinic thinks so, and in late January endorsed the King-Devick Test distributed by Grove resident Charlie Felker, above, and his business partner Don Carducci (not photographed). Felker and Carducci's company, Remove from Play Testing is a sideline concussion screening test that can be administered by parents and coaches in minutes. RFP Testing is located in the CWE at TechArtista, 4818 Washington.
Devick, whose son-in-law also went to West Point and, as Felker said, "loves vets," asked if he wanted to become the distributor of the King-Devick Test. Felker enlisted fellow vet Carducci to join him. To date Notre Dame, the University of Miami, University of Florida, and Florida International University all use the test. Sports teams in the states of Arkansas and Indiana are using it, as is Major League Lacrosse. And, our hometown St. Louis Cardinals recently adopted the test!
The King-Devick Test has garnered lots of press too: an article in USA Today, and just last week an article titled "A Simple Flashcard Test to Detect Concussions" appeared in The New York Times.
The article in USA Today,"The Simple Test the NFL Doesn't Use," describes how the test works:
"The King-Devick Test measures saccadic, or rapid, eye movement. A person suspected of having a concussion is given three cards, each with several lines of numbers on them, and asked to read them, left to right. When there's been a concussion or some other brain injury, the time it takes to read the numbers will be slower than the person's baseline test. (The test also can be administered using an app, with the numbers presented on three different screens.)"
When asked why the NFL isn't using the King-Devick Test, Felker replied, "Because it's too damn easy."
RFP Testing works for all contact sports. According to Felker, the test takes the guesswork from the hands of the trainers, coaches or parents – the facts speak for themselves, and the athlete should be "removed from play" if there is a change from the baseline test. Here is a video of the test being administered by the coach of the University of Pennsylvania Lacrosse team.
Felker says that Remove from Play Testing, which costs $5 per athlete, is an easy sell to youth sports associations. It's tougher, for some reason, to sell to high schools, except for his alma mater, John Burroughs, which is on board with RFP.
Wonderful isn't it that two veterans who have already given so much to the country have found a way to make another contribution aiding the health of athletes around the world. And wonderful too that they are based here in St. Louis, in the CWE. There are so many positive things going on in this town, we just need someone or some group to take a leadership position and get the word out to the world about how great our city is, don't we?
For more information, contact Charlie Felker via the website or by email: [email protected].