Warringah Rats Rugby Union among sporting clubs to acquire latest concussion technology

Following a sponsorship arrangement with Arcare Aged Care, Warringah Rats Rugby Union are among sporting clubs and schools in NSW, Victoria and Queensland to have acquired the latest technology to manage brain health - the portable EyeGuide rapid response sideline testing device.

EyeGuide’s technology is a 10-second, non-intrusive eye test which analyses the brain health of individuals and forms part of the overall assessment process when a head knock occurs on the sporting field.

EyeGuide’s technology will be used to baseline the brain health of all players and if a player receives a head knock, follow up tests will be used in addition to the traditional concussion protocols.

When using EyeGuide’s system, a player follows a white dot across an iPad screen while a camera captures 1200 images of the player’s eye movement. This assessment of their eye movement is used as an indicator of their brain function.

An algorithm generates an objective score in real-time to gauge a players’ brain activity which is compared to their baseline scan.

Further follow-up testing is conducted throughout the recovery process in the days and weeks after the sideline assessment to gather objective data during the recovery process.

Ongoing data can measure a player’s brain health over the course of their career and flag early warnings for further specialist assessment. It is hoped this will promote player wellbeing and prolong careers.

Warringah General Manager, Greg Marr, said concussion management is an important player safety issue and the club is now better equipped to manage and safeguard players after a head knock.

Marr notes “we want to provide all players with a high level of care and the EyeGuide technology is a simple, easy to use device which delivers clear data and provides players, coaches and family members peace of mind.”

EyeGuide Chief Executive, Shane Keating, said independent validation revealed the 10-second sideline test detected concussions 85% of the time.

Keating adds “the current subjective methods, such as asking players if they have a headache or know the score to assess their brain function, has its obvious limitations. The feedback from players and parents is that the objective EyeGuide data provides peace of mind that the assessment process has more rigor and objectivity.

Arcare Chief Executive, Colin Singh, said EyeGuide units provides more tangible value to promote the wellbeing of people in the community.

“When people come to an aged care facility later in life, we want them to be in the best possible health and we believe an active lifestyle through participation in sport is an essential part of this. We find our values to promote the wellbeing of active people is very much aligned between Arcare Age Care and EyeGuide,” he said.

Further details about EyeGuide can be found at www.eyeguide.tech .

Images from top: Eye Guide concussion technology; Eye Guide concussion technology results incident after one week and two weeks; Eye Guide concussion technology testing a patient