Eye-tracking technology will be trialled to assist with the detection of concussions in the sport, World Rugby has announced. In competitions trialling the technology, it will be used in-match alongside the sport’s existing head injury assessment (HIA) process and also as part of the return-to-play steps. Studies have found that eye movement, or oculomotor function, is altered at the time a concussion is suffered, or shortly after, and the technology being trialled should pick up any changes in that function. The news comes at a time when the treatment of head injuries in rugby and in all sports is under scrutiny, and when a legal action on behalf of nine former players suffering from early onset dementia has been launched against World Rugby, the Rugby Football Union and the Welsh Rugby Union. A separate study, carried out by the University of Birmingham among elite male rugby players in the Premiership and the Championship in England, has identified biomarkers in a player’s saliva which were 94 per cent accurate in predicting the outcome of an HIA as to whether a player was concussed or not.

Source: Express March 30, 2021 10:41 UTC