Rugby is trying to better understand the long-term effects of concussion. Lee Smith/Action Images/ZUMA Wire
LONDON—Technology used in the NFL to measure the impact of head collisions is being trialed by a U.K. professional rugby team, part of a program to better understand the long-term effects of concussion.
Players from Saracens—currently sitting third in the English Premiership, the country’s top league competition—wore impact sensors taped behind their ears on Saturday in a match against London Irish.
The collision sensor, known as the xPatch, is made by Seattle-based X2 Biosystems Inc. It gauges the impact of collisions with the head using sensors that measure rotation, tilt, movement and speed.
Wearable technology – with athletes using clothing with embedded sensors which track and record data on metrics like heart rate, speed and distance – has been slowly making its way into professional sports, mostly to track and analyse performance.
But injury prevention is a key area. Last year, Reebok released its Checklight headgear for American Football teams to monitor head injuries. Force Impact Technologies developed the FITguard—a mouth guard with sensors to detect impact.
In Saracens’ case, data is currently collated and assessed after the match, but the club says it will start using real-time information later this year. That would mean decisions on whether players can safely continue playing following a head injury could be made using the data, Saracens said in a statement.
Like American football, rugby is reassessing the way it deals with head injuries.
A number of multimillion dollar lawsuits from ex-NFL players have raised concerns that repeated impacts to the head cause depression, memory loss and severe headaches in later life. Last July, a U.S. federal judge approved a compensation settlement paying out to thousands of former players affected by concussion.
Head injuries are a growing concern in rugby, where players don’t wear helmets or any of the oversized padding used in American Football. The number of concussions in English rugby increased to 6.7 per 1,000 hours played in the 2013 season, from 5.1 the season before, according to the Rugby Football Union, the sport’s governing body.
The RFU recently tightened regulations on allowing players to return to the pitch after a head injury. Assessments are carried out pitchside by doctors—initially in the form of a memory test—but technology is starting to play a more important role. As well as the sensors worn by Saracens, all professional players and coaches must complete an online module on spotting the signs of concussion.
“We’re collecting data because we want answers,” said Saracens Chief Executive Edward Griffiths. “In simple terms, we don’t want to meet our players in 20 or 25 years’ time, to find them suffering from dementia or any similar condition.”
Global revenue for sports, fitness and activity monitors will soar 43% to $2.8 billion by 2019 from $1.9-billion last year, according to research group IHS Technology, citing increasing demand for wearable devices by professional athletes.
Simon Zekaria contributed to this report.
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UK Rugby Team Tests Collision Sensor - Wall Street Journal (blog)
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