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IndyCar adds eye-tracking I-PAS system to concussion test

Indycar I-PAS

Joe Skibinski

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) IndyCar has added an eye-tracking computer test as a requirement to its concussion evaluation protocol.

The I-PAS system was brought to the series attention after a 2016 misdiagnosis on driver Will Power. He had hit the wall during a practice session for the season-opening race and as the weekend progressed, Power displayed concussion-like symptoms.

Power was not cleared to race.

He was then sent to Dr. Steve Olvey, IndyCar’s former medical director, at the University of Miami’s concussion program. Olvey used the I-PAS test on Power and determined the driver actually had an inner ear infection.

IndyCar tested I-PAS in 2017 on drivers who had been in accidents that led to concussion-like symptoms. The test is now required in the drivers’ preseason physical.

I-PAS was created by Pittsburgh-based Neuro Kinetics, Inc., and is commonly referred to as the “goggles test.” It’s a portable system and resembles a virtual reality headset. It is at all IndyCar events.

The test integrates clinical eye tracking with a digital display, and medical professionals run a series of 14 tests to determine if a driver has a concussion.