FDA-Reviewed Innovation: Proven Science-Backed Technology

The Q-Collar is the only FDA-reviewed equipment designed to help protect the brain from the effects of repetitive head impacts in sports. As former athletes ourselves, the team at Q30 Innovations spent over 10 years developing the Q-Collar with leading neuroscientists, physicians, and engineers to ensure we were developing a solution that could better protect athletes in the sports we love.

Cleared by the FDA in February 2021 after a rigorous review of all research pertaining to the Q-Collar, it was proven to be both safe and effective for athletes.

The Q-Collar is a simple and safe device that applies light pressure to the neck. This pressure causes a partial occlusion to the jugular veins and a slight increase of blood volume inside the head and helps reduce the brain’s movement upon impact, which is the primary cause of brain injury. Similar to a seatbelt in a car, the Q-Collar helps to keep the brain more secure during impacts.

The Q-Collar does not reduce blood circulation or blood flow through the carotid arteries, negatively impact athletic performance or have any reported adverse events from over 45,000 active users.

Backed by Over a Decade of Research & Clinical Evidence

The Q-Collar’s FDA-clearance was supported by the largest neuroprotection studies in sports medicine, involving over 500 athletes. Every claim is grounded in data published and reviewed by leading journals, including Neurosurgery and Journal of Neurotrauma.

  • Top Institutions: Over 25 independent pre-clinical and clinical research studies were conducted by Cincinnati Children's Hospital, NorthShore University Health, Boston Children's Hospital, and West Virginia University, among others.

  • Advanced Imaging On Real Athletes: The Q-Collar was proven to be safe and effective on the field, not just in the lab. Research used advanced MRI brain scans pre- and post-season to evaluate if damage occurred to the brain's white matter. Athletes wearing a Q-Collar saw a 66% reduction in the likelihood of brain damage compared to the control.

  • No Change In Play Style or Performance: The Q-Collar has no negative impact on athletic performance, including strength, balance, blood oxygen levels, endurance, etc. And, during clinical trials, athletes wearing a Q-Collar did not play differently. With more than 500,000 total impacts recorded and analyzed, there was no significant difference in the number and magnitude of impacts between athletes who were wearing the Collar and those who were not.

An Added Layer of Protection

Helmets can reduce serious injury to the skull by preventing direct contact and spreading the force of impact over a greater surface area. But they can’t limit brain movement. The Q-Collar helps protect the brain from within, focusing on the source of serious head injuries: the brain.

When the head absorbs a hit, the brain bounces back and forth against the inside of the skull. This rapid acceleration and deceleration of the brain – a phenomenon known as [tooltip label="brain slosh"]
<strong>What is brain slosh?</strong>The movement of the brain inside the skull
[/tooltip] – stretches and tears brain fibers, resulting in [tooltip label="Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)"]
A Traumatic Brain Injury, or TBI, is an injury that affects how the brain works. It could be caused by one or several blows, bumps or impacts to the head.
[/tooltip].

A Decade of Research

Leading research institutions conducted over 28 independent laboratory, clinical and wearability studies involving Olympic, professional, youth athletes, and SWAT personnel over the last ten years to evaluate the Q-Collar's effectiveness.

Jugular compression reduced damage to brain neurons and axons (key indicators of brain injury) by 83%.

Pre-Clinical Study

There is no statistical risk to the body from wearing the collar (Human Performance Study) and no interference with performance, movement, and endurance. (In some cases, wearing the collar actually enhances performance.)

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Wearing the Q-Collar resulted in no significant changes in white matter in 77% of athletes wearing the collar, while significant changes in white matter were found in 73% of athletes not wearing the collar.

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Wearing the Q-Collar may reduce the risk and severity of traumatic brain injury (including reduced risk of hearing loss*) from blast waves*, in addition to collisions.

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Learn more about the research findings and clinical trials.
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*These uses have not been evaluated or cleared by the FDA. Further research is necessary to determine whether the Q-Collar can provide these benefits to users.

Help protect your future on and off the field.

Damage from brain slosh can be catastrophic when it occurs on a large scale, but research shows that it is also quite harmful on a small scale–especially in the long term.

Damage from these smaller events, called repetitive sub-concussive impacts, accumulates over time. Repeated impacts caused by headers, jostling, and collisions may alter the [tooltip label="white matter"]
<strong>What is white matter?</strong>
Deeper tissues of the brain
[/tooltip], or deep tissue, of the brain, posing long-term health risks including decreased mental acuity, [tooltip label="chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)"]
A brain disease that can only be diagnosed after death. It has been linked to specific changes in the brain that affect how the brain works
[/tooltip], dementia, and Alzheimer’s.

Did you know?

College football players experience an estimated 950-1,350 repetitive, sub-concussive head impacts per season.

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Even youth football players (who constitute about 70% of all football players) absorb an average of 3.7 head impacts per game and 1.5 impacts per practice.

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From 2000 to 2020, more than 430,000 U.S. service members have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (which are typically the result of head impacts and blast waves).

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With the exception of football, female soccer players experience the highest rate of concussions out of any other athletes.

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“The science behind the Q-Collar is
mind-boggling in its simplicity. The data behind the Q-Collar is really compelling. There is no real question anymore – the athletes that are making this a part of their protective gear are more protected.”

Dr. Wayne Olan

Director of Interventional and Endovascular Neurosurgery, George Washington University