Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), through its Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), awarded $480,192 to The Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital Corporation on July 1, 2026, for a two-year project concluding June 30, 2028. The award funds development and evaluation of the Clinical Assessment of Sports and Physical Exertion (CASE)—a sub-maximal exercise test designed to assess children's physiological readiness for return to play and physical activity following concussion. The CASE addresses gaps in existing clinical tools by employing a multimodal assessment approach that evaluates multiple domains of human performance through dynamic, multidirectional exercise using cost-effective equipment scalable to secondary school settings, thereby supplementing subjective symptom reporting in return-to-play decision-making.

The single-arm cohort study enrolls 25 children ages 13–18 across all genders, races, and ethnicities to evaluate the CASE's utility in determining readiness for safe return to sport and activity. This project directly supports NICHD's 2025 scientific priority of improving child and adolescent health and the transition to adulthood by developing clinical tools that reduce the risk of repeat injury and prolonged recovery associated with premature return-to-play clearance in pediatric concussion populations.