Norwalk — A collar seen on the necks of NFL players may be a solution to repetitive subconcussive head injuries that have plagued many members of the armed forces.

Based in Norwalk, Q30 Innovations' product, the Q-Collar, applies light pressure to one's neck, slowing down blood flow from the head leaving more blood surrounding the brain which helps limit brain movement, explained Tom Hoey, co-CEO of Q30 Innovations.

"The genius behind the invention is that we're solving the solution from inside the body," Hoey explained.

The Q-Collar, which rests on the back and sides of the neck, is the first and only FDA-approved device to reduce traumatic brain injuries. While its used by some athletes and service members, neither national sports leagues nor the military have made the device required equipment.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., sat down with Hoey and the Q30 Innovations team at their South Norwalk office Monday afternoon to discuss how this product can benefit athletes and the armed services across the country by preventing traumatic brain injuries.

"I'm really proud that this is a Connecticut product, but I'm a little frustrated that we can't get the sports leagues at the national level and the Department of Defense to embrace this," Murphy said. "So that'll be, you know, what I'll try to contribute to is to make sure that we're doing everything possible to get this on our soldiers if it's beneficial to our soldiers."

Q30 Innovations is receiving $2.5 million in federal funds to continue research on their product and how it can benefit armed service members.

Bryan Offutt, Q30 military liaison, said he is working with Fort Detrick in Maryland but the process of distributing the device among service areas has gone slowly as more research is being done. Some of the $2.5 million can also go toward purchasing the $199 devices for service members.

"I'm glad they focused on this product, but I want to make sure that if it really is as transformational as it might be, that we're getting it on our soldiers as quickly as possible as a mandatory piece of equipment," Murphy said.

Currently, Navy SEALs and other units are using the Q-Collar to reduce the impact of their day-to-day training. Anecdotally, the collar has helped service members who spend hours on the shooting range or on fast boats, Offutt and Hoey said.

"They report back that they're not as fatigued, they don't have headaches and their accuracy has improved," Hoey noted.

Reducing brain injuries

After 10 years of research, Q30 says it proved its theory that keeping more blood in the head minimizes the impacts of repetitive subconcussive activity. While the collar cannot completely prevent concussions, the research shows it reduces the impact of contact sports hits.

"The FDA took all the data and their own analysis said that... 23 percent of collared athletes had significant changes in their brain compared to 75 percent of non-collar wearing athletes," said Gary Greene, general counsel for Q30 Innovations. "So we reduced the impact of the season of head impacts by two-thirds or the risk of having changes in the brain by two-thirds."

Repetitive hits sustained by playing contact sports have been linked to traumatic brain injury diseases like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) which causes death of nerve cells in the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Our goal and what we're doing is reducing those smaller injuries that are happening," Hoey explained.

He said the collar provides 1.5 pounds of pressure to the side of a person's neck, which slows down — but doesn't stop — blood flow from the brain to the heart.

"What that does is create the back dome, so it's more fluid in the head and the brain and the brain can't slosh or move," Hoey said.

Whether the collar can prevent concussions is harder to prove.

"What we can tell you is that we have heard anecdotally from a lot of consumers where an athlete was hit where they should have been concussed and they were not, but the problem is we can't study the efficacy of concussions because there's no diagnostic tool yet," Hoey explained.

Since hitting the shelves, athletes in all manner of sports from equestrians to footballers have worn the collar.

For marketing purposes, Q30 Innovations has worked with 10 NFL players along with several professional soccer and lacrosse players. Partnerships with a few college football teams are also in the works.

Q30 Innovations expects about five to six Q-Collar-wearing women soccer players at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Hoey said. Women's soccer is second to football in highest concussion rates, according to a study the company conducted.

"Our first soccer study with the girls was pretty alarming," Hoey said.

Over 100 NFL players are electing to wear the Q-Collar. Q30 Innovations hopes that more pros wearing the collars will help spread the word to younger athletes.

"The problem really isn't at the NFL level, it's the 10, 15 years before," said Bruce Angus, co-CEO.

Murphy vowed he would continue to support the Q-Collar mission.

"Every single parent knows that head injuries are a huge deal for kids today, and so why wouldn't we be trying to invest in a really simple product that can potentially dramatically reduce your long-term exposure to head injury?" Murphy said.

"I will also work with the guys here to see if I can be helpful in pushing the NCAA or the NFL or the NHL a little bit further along as a partner," Murphy added.

Before moving to Norwalk, Q30 Innovations was based in Westport and Wilton, and most of the employees are Connecticut-based.

Invented by Dr. David Smith and developed with Dr. Julian Bailes among other doctors, the theory for the Q-Collar was inspired by the anatomy of the woodpecker.