Microchipped mouthguards take big bite out of concussion risk

Hutt Old Boys Marist’s premier players have been fitted with electronic mouthguards this season as the Wellington rugby club takes the lead on concussion and player welfare.

In a New Zealand first, team doctor Doug King has imported microchipped technology from the United States to measure impacts received on the field.

The premier side wore the mouthguards during Monday’s Swindale Shield match against Wainuiomata and though there were no recorded concussions, one player recorded an impact of 126 G-force.

‘‘There are accelerometers and gyros in the mouthguards,’’ King said. ‘‘I do a one-minute concussion test called the King-Devick on every player after the match and then download all the data from the mouthguards and correlate the two to see what’s happening.’’

King, a registered nurse at Hutt Hospital’s emergency department, is doing the work as part of his second PhD.

His work began after he saw Wainuiomata rugby league player Leonardo Va’a die in 1998, when called in to help from the sideline.

‘‘I do a one-minute concussion test called the KingDevick on every player after the match and then download all the data from the mouthguards and correlate the two to see what’s happening.’’ Doug King

‘‘He died on the field as a result of quite a few concussions and a bleed on his brain,’’ King said.

‘‘He was unfortunately declared dead on arrival at Wellington Hospital. It spurred me to want to know a lot more with regards to concussion.’’

King’s work in rugby union started last year when HOBM agreed to have all players from their top two sides sit the KingDevick test and be measured against their baseline score after every match.

‘‘Last year we only witnessed five concussions, but picked up a further 17 concussion related injuries through the King-Devick,’’ he said.

‘‘It prompted me to want to know a bit more. I wanted to see what impacts are occurring on the football field.’’

He applied for, and was granted, funding to import the $300-a-pop mouthguards from American com- pany X2 Biosystems, which last season fitted the same technology to the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League.

Although the New Zealand Rugby Union was aware of his work and had endorsed it, it had no official involvement, he said.

Club players in New Zealand are subject to a mandatory threeweek stand-down after a diagnosed concussion.

Professionals are subject to psychometric testing, but King said that was not applicable at the amateur level.

‘‘It’s totally separate. The difference is the King-Devick can be used by non-medical people. It is designed to identify if someone has had a concussion. It will raise the alert that this person needs to be referred for medical consultation.’’

The test has also been introduced to HOBM’s junior club, where parents can use an iPad to assess whether children record an impaired cognitive score.

HOBM’s premier team has taken a tough stance, with any player who fails the King-Devick post-match test not allowed to train or play again until King gives them the all clear.

Premier back Alexis Time sat out Monday’s season opener, his fourth week on the sidelines, after being concussed during a preseason match.

Coach Justin Wilson said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

‘‘If you get a corked thigh it’s repairable, but we are talking about guy’s heads,’’ he said. ‘‘Doug has shown the club some documentaries and what head injuries can do for the rest of your life and it’s really had an impact.

‘‘I’m a father of five boys and I consider myself a rugby head, but if I can protect my players and they don’t have to go through some of those things then that’s great.

‘‘Having this technology doesn’t give us an advantage over other teams, but it does in looking after our players.’’

While some players had been reluctant, the vast majority had embraced the concept and were glad the club was monitoring their health.