Smart mouthguard can tell if your child has had a dangerous head knock

Aussie kids are getting access to a new mouthguard that can detect head knocks which AFL stars use, as experts call for contact sport to be restricted to children over age 14.

Exclusive: It’s used by athletes in the AFL, UK Rugby League and Premier League to detect head knocks, but now a game-changing mouthguard will be made available to junior athletes.

HITIQ’s Australian-designed technology delivers a report to a parent or player’s smartphone app, immediately after they leave the field, advising whether they’ve suffered a significant blow.

Parents can then check whether their child has any of the symptoms which might call for a professional medical check up.

“What we’re able to do within our system and our platform is to alert a caregiver to an incident that is significant of nature, and that doesn’t mean that that event has resulted in a concussion,” HITIQ CEO Mike Vegar said.

The Smart Mouthguard delivers a report to a smartphone. Picture: Supplied

“One of the claims that we don’t make is that we can diagnose a concussion. The system itself is designed to detect and record all head impacts.”

The public release of the invention comes as a Senate inquiry into sports concussion has heard there is no national definition of concussion, no national guidelines, some official guidelines are faulty, and that different sports require concussed players take different amounts of time off after the brain injury.

The new mouthguard technology enables detection of head impacts. Picture: David Caird

Since 2021, the AFL and the NRL have required concussed players to stay off the field for 12 days but La Trobe University expert Professor Alan Pearce, who is developing a transcranial magnetic stimulation device to measure concussion, says it’s not long enough.

While the symptoms of concussion may resolve within 12 days, his research shows “we’re looking at 28-30 days for the brain to fully recover”.

Professor Pearce said the growing brains of children need even longer – up to two months – to recover.

While Monash researchers have developed a blood test that can detect concussion and the UK has a saliva test, these are not used by Australian sporting codes.

Clinical co-director of the Australian Sports Brain Bank, neurologist Dr Rowena Mobbs, told the Senate inquiry contact sport should be banned until age 14 to protect children from brain damage.

AFL players Jobe Watson and Steele Sidebottom with the smart mouthguard. Picture: David Caird

HITIQ has been gathering data on head knocks from sporting codes for a number of years and turned it into an algorithm that is behind the smart mouthguard.

The Smart Mouthguard is custom fitted and it is only available from 180 BUPA dental clinics around the country.

Families pay an initial $209 subscription price, then a $99 annual subscription fee in subsequent years.

Members of other health funds may have to pay an extra $20-$50 for the device and non-health fund members might be up for a total upfront cost of $400.

Nick Perizzolo’s parents were so worried about head knocks, they made him wear a helmet while he played as a junior in the Victorian Football League.

Nick Perizzolo from Northern Bullants with a smart mouthguard. Picture: Wayne Taylor

The 18-year-old, who plays for the Bullants, said while he had not yet suffered a concussion, some of his teammates had.

“I’m willing to give it (the mouthguard) a crack,” he said.

“It will give my parents more comfort,” he said.

Concussion Australia told a Senate inquiry into concussion detection mouthguards needed more scrutiny “to ensure they do what they say they do, and that they are not simply fear mongering or selling useless products”.

“Our company and technologies are supported by a world class Scientific and Medical Advisory Council, including as well as a global client base of elite sporting teams who have benefitted from our technology,’’ HITIQ’s Mike Vegar said.

SIGNS OF CONCUSSION

You don’t need to become unconscious to suffer concussion – 90 per cent of people do not become unconscious.

Symptoms of concussion include:

Headache

Dizziness

Confusion

Drowsiness

More emotional

‘Don’t feel right’

‘Pressure in the head’

Difficulty concentrating

Difficulty remembering

Nausea or vomiting

Neck pain

Fatigue or low energy

Blurred vision

Balance problems

Sensitivity to light

Sensitivity to noise

Feeling like ‘in a fog’

Feeling slowed down

Trouble falling asleep

Nervous or anxious

Sadness

Irritability

Source: Concussion Australia