@Klue, FYI, great progress being made by Neuroflex (see below). PVL invested $225,000 CAD in Neuroflex in April 2022 for a 1% stake, which gives Neuroflex a current valuation of ~A$24 million (Seed). With trials now complete and partnerships secured, it is likely that Neuroflex will want to scale up into its Series A soon.

FIFA to use Australian technology to monitor concussions at World Cup

ByVince Rugari

Concussed players at the World Cup in Qatar will be assessed using a new piece of Australian-owned technology as part of the most extensive set of protocols FIFA has ever deployed at a major tournament.

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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While most of the public discussion regarding concussion in recent years has revolved around collision sports like the rugby codes, Aussie rules and American football, the beautiful game is also facing its own reckoning in parts of Europe.

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CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, is believed to be caused by repetitive sub-concussive knocks, such as those football players regularly sustain while heading the ball.

Five members of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning team have been diagnosed with dementia, leading to the death of four of them. England’s Football Association has responded by banning under-12s from heading the ball at training and in games.

Football Australia has not enacted such a ban, but recently engaged an expert working group to provide ongoing guidance on concussion in football, while FIFA says it has made brain injuries in football a “key objective” of its medical subdivision and is constantly monitoring research on the matter.

“In addition, FIFA is conducting research on the mechanical properties of footballs and is exploring how these factors can influence ball impacts, as well as how they can best be measured and quantified,” a FIFA spokesperson said.

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