A technology to solve one of Rugby Union’s major headaches

In this day and age of rapidly evolving technology, professional sport and increasing liability for sports governing bodies, methods in which to prevent and treat head injuries were always going to be the first port of call. In the past decade, there has been more than a 50% increase of concussion reports in Rugby Union which has seen head injuries and concussions become a large part of mainstream rugby discussion.

This has led to rule alterations as well as the implementation of tests like the HIC (Head Injury Criteria) testing which is being used very frequently at this month’s Rugby World Cup. With the nature of such an injury often very hard to detect, a New Zealand-based company named CSx has also developed a concussion management software to help manage players potentially suffering from a severe head injury.

With the company’s current goal focused on finding solutions to issues with concussion management, CSx has been developing new technology over the past four years in order to test the software. Working with rugby teams like the Rebels and the Hurricanes in the Southern Hemisphere’s Super Rugby Competition, they’ve fine tuned the technology in order to be able to track the concussion history of a player and make it accessible by tablet.

The technology allows users to administer tests, compare data, share reports and control account access while engaging with players to help with concussion management.

All the information is kept in the CSx Impact Hub which is a cloud-based software that tracks concussion history of a player which is also accessible via tablet.

The Chief Medical Officer at World Rugby Martin Raftery said that the technology will help players and team medical staff to keep an eye on a player’s head-related injury

The significant advantage of this system is the availability of baseline data for medics who are completing the sideline assessment. The system will also support compliance with data collection and underpin research in this critical area of sideline head injury management

In addition to monitoring a player’s head injury and concussion history, the software includes additional medical information including treatments, medications, vaccinations and allergies for each profile.

The technology is currently being showcased at the 2015 Rugby World Cup and will monitor far more head injuries and concussions than at previous rugby tournaments. Team doctors will have secure and mobile access to each player’s history and baseline data for immediate comparison.

After the conclusion of the World Cup, there are plans by CSx to release a range of sport specific versions of the software.

 

About author

Matt Tewhatu
Matt Tewhatu 155 posts

Matt is the editor of Digital Sport and Chief of Snack Media's rugby division and has a journalistic background both here in UK, Australia and in his native New Zealand. Follow him on Twitter @mtewhatu

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