NeuroFlex, a virtual reality headset which tracks eye and head movements to help facilitate a safe return to play, has inked a partnership deal with Aspetar, Qatar’s world-leading sports medicine hospital which provides care to all sporting events held in the country.
Former Socceroo Gerry Gomez with NeuroFlex executive director Grenville Thynne.CREDIT:JAMES BRICKWOOD
That includes the forthcoming World Cup, which kicks off in Doha on November 20 and is the first in which teams will be permitted to use a concussion substitute, in line with IFAB’s ongoing global trial, regardless of how many of the usual five subs have been made.
After beingsuccessfully tested in Super Rugby, the SANFL and last year’s FIFA Arab Cup, the NeuroFlex system will be available at Aspetar during the tournament to help team doctors determine how quickly a player is able to return to the field following head trauma.
Unlike many sporting governing bodies which have mandated arbitrary timeframes that concussed players must observe before returning to play, FIFA has only put forward a recommendation of six days – but this technology will ensure any such call made at the World Cup will be based on pure science and real-time data, NeuroFlex executive director Grenville Thynne said.
“What NeuroFlex does is it provides the objective data to the medical team to make an informed decision,” Thynne said.
“Right now, the data that the medical teams rely on is very subjective – waving of a finger, a couple of balance tests, maybe a couple of cognitive tests. And a lot of players these days can sometimes memorise those cognitive questions and the answers those questions.
“This takes out subjectivity ... there’s a lot of data that is given to the team doc in order to make his decision.”
In addition to NeuroFlex, FIFA has put in place a range of additional measures including the concussion sub, a replay screen for team doctors to review concussion or injury incidents, and concussion ‘spotters’ who will be seated in the media tribune to analyse any medical incidents.
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