Many studies have shown the impact that a concussion can have on an individual's brain. Often when a person suffers from this type of injury, their memory and other cognitive functions have difficulty recovering. Children and teens who experience concussions may face repercussions into adulthood.

In an effort to help these individuals, experts from the Georgia Tech Research Institute recently designed a device that can detect concussions in athletes and soldiers. The technology allows officials to determine whether a person has suffered from the injury by asking them to walk a short distance while reciting the months of the year in reverse order.

"When a person with a concussion performs cognitive and motor skill tasks simultaneously, they have a different gait pattern than a healthy individual, and we can identify those anomalies in a person's walk with radar," said Jennifer Palmer, the school's research engineer.

The technique examines an individual's cognitive and motor skills almost immediately. Although methods currently exist for detecting concussions, many focus exclusively on cognitive impairment and not potential accompanying motor skills deterioration.

Individuals who have had concussions may wish to take free online IQ tests to help them determine how they are recovering from their injury.