World Rugby is introducing game-changing ‘smart’ mouthguards in the sport’s battle with concussion

During a recent match at the Six Nations tournament, Scotland’s George Turner made history after he was removed from the field after his smart mouthguard detected a dangerous collision.

In an effort to combat the rise in concussions, World Rugby has teamed up with Prevent Biometrics on a ‘smart’ mouthguard, which it hopes will help reduce concussions in the sport.

At first glance, the mouthguard looks like any other, but there is smart technology embedded in it.

Sensors in the mouthguard measure shocks to the head and accelerations and decelerations.

Current regulations state that for men’s players, an impact greater than 70g and 4,000 radians per second squared will recommend a Head Injury Assessment (HIA).

Speaking to MailOnline in 2022, Drew Goodger, Vice President of Customer Success at Prevent Biometrics, explained: ‘The mouthguards, from a structural perspective, are really no different than typical off-the-shelf mouthguards.

“What they do have from a technology perspective is an accelerometer and a gyroscope, which essentially measures the movement of your head from both contact and non-contact scenarios.

“You also have small components like batteries and Bluetooth transmitters that can capture that information and project it to an iOS app in real time.”

The Six Nations tournament is the most high-profile competition in which the new technology has been used, with wider implementation of the mouthguards considered likely.

Lindsay Starling, World Rugby’s science and medical manager, said the mouthguards have “really changed the game”.

“There is a chance that repeated head impacts over a player’s life could contribute to long-term brain health, so we must do what we can to protect players’ brain health in all head impacts, not just concussions,” he says . said.

‘This allows us to quantify the frequency and magnitude of main impacts, meaning we can respond to major impacts, and better manage and ultimately reduce their exposure to them throughout their career.’

There are increasing concerns about the brain health of athletes in contact sports, due to the impact that repetitive head trauma can have on the brain.

The mouthguards measure the impact on the head and alert medical personnel

Head injuries have become a big topic in sports in recent years

Last year the Rugby Football Union (RFU), which governs rugby union in England, announced the most drastic change to the game in recent history.

From July 1, amateur players of all ages must tackle an opposing player at the waist or lower in an effort to reduce the number of serious head injuries.

Chest tackles will be made illegal at National One level and below in men’s football and Championship One and below in women’s rugby – but Australia will not follow suit.

Meanwhile, the number of former rugby players taking legal action against the game’s authorities continues to grow.

In early December, England’s 2003 World Cup winners Phil Vickery and Mark Regan and former Wales center Gavin Henson were high-profile figures among the 207 new names revealed in the concussion rugby procedural hearing at the High Court in London.

They joined the likes of Alix Popham, Carl Hayman, Steve Thompson and Michael Lipman to take legal action against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union after suffering neurological problems such as early-onset dementia, motor neurone disease and probably chronic traumatic trauma. encephalopathy which they claim is the result of their playing career.

The players say they were not told rugby would cause such problems.

In total, around 320 former rugby union professionals, semi-professionals and amateurs and 160 from rugby league are now involved in the legal action.