- Herald Sun
- February 29, 2012
ONE of Australia's top neurosurgeons says new mouth guards with in-built computer chips could unlock the answers to the long-term effects of concussion.
As experts debate the issue of head knocks in sport, Professor Jeffrey Rosenfeld said $150 mouth guards that measured impacts to the head could lead to a significant breakthrough.
"One of the things we wanted to do, but we haven't got the dough to do it yet, is study these things called smart mouth guards," Rosenfeld said.
"They can pick up the force on the head during the game, and record how many hits the player suffered and the angular forces in the head, the linear forces, the acceleration, the deceleration."
The X2IMPACT mouthguards have been developed in the US.
The head of neurosurgery at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Rosenfeld said it was unclear if repeated on-field concussions led to depression.
"Yes, concussion might be one element, but there might be 50 other elements in a particular case," he said.
"It might just be because the guy can't play properly, he's not kicking the goals he normally kicks, so he gets depressed.
"You can't make a definite connection there at the moment."
While AFL and NRL chiefs have recently banned concussed players from returning to the field, Rosenfeld said contact sports across the board needed to be more vigilant.
"If a player has got a diagnosis of concussion from a doctor, they need to stop playing until they are fully recovered and that rule is not being completely followed at the moment throughout contact sport," he said.
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