AFL hopeful hi-tech mouthguards can provide concussion answers

AFL chief Gillon McLachlan has defended the league’s approach to concussion prevention, revealing it will spend $500,000 on research which will include further trials using a hi-tech mouthguards.

Ex-North Melbourne player Michael Firrito with a microchipped mouthguard in 2017. Picture: Michael Klein

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The AFL has invested $100,000 into the further development and research of a customised mouthguard which is monitoring the impact of heavy hits and concussion on players.

Players at four AFL clubs and four NRL clubs last year trialled the motion-sensored mouthguards.

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The data collection program has this year been extended to two AFLW clubs and eight AFL clubs.

The project, with Australian company HitIQ, comprises players wearing the instrumented mouthguard to record acceleration and rotation of the skull — and therefore the brain.

The device may also be relevant to assess concussive and sub-concussive trauma, though this needs further research, the AFL said.

Last week it was revealed AFL legend Polly Farmer became the first Australian rules player to be diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the crippling neurological disorder caused by repeated head knocks.

It came as a proposed Federal Court concussion damages class action involving more than 100 past AFL players is being considered.

The AFL has been accused of dropping the ball on concussion, although it says it has made several unpopular rule changes in the past decade to protect players’ heads.

The AFL will continue to invest in the hi-tech mouthguard. Picture: Michael Klein

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan told the Herald Sun the league would continue to look at its rules.

“We have had concussion protocols and management guidelines since the early 200s.

“We work on prevention, we focus on diagnosis and diagnostics and then research.

“We’ve made a lot of rule changes over 15 years which have been very unpopular to protect the head.

“We will continue to look at the rules, that’s what the competition committee is there for, it’s part of their mandate.

“On the diagnostics side, we’re spending nearly $500,000 on research this year, of which $100,000 is on a mouthguard which has the potential to measure every single impact (on the field).

“We are continuing to research that and it will be trialled again this year.

“We take concussion incredibly seriously and we have been making decisions to continue to have as a priority the health and welfare of our players.’’

First revealed to be trialled at the start of the 2019 season, the AFL said the data would give them “great insight’’ into the level of movement of players heads during matches and training sessions.

“If done over multiple years it will be relevant to see if laws changes/prevention measures reduce the level of head impact/movement of our players,’’ the AFL said.

The AFL said it has more than 15 current research projects in relation to concussion, at both elite and community level and across men’s and women’s football.

Originally published as AFL hopeful hi-tech mouthguards can provide concussion answers