New LED gum shields, which glow red after a heavy impact, will be introduced at the rugby Women’s World Cup this month.
The technology for the LED gum shields has been in development since 2021, successfully trialled in Major League Rugby. It will now be rolled out by World Rugby, with a full opt-in from all players.
It works by the gum shield turning from clear to red when a player experiences a head trauma with force beyond a certain threshold. A bluetooth alert will also be sent to a match-day doctor and the referee will immediately stop the match.
It is hoped that the flashing visual cue will reduce the time it takes for the player to receive medical attention and make it clear which impact caused an injury.
‘What we need to be careful not to do is over-rely on the data or put too much power in the hands of the data. Obviously data is incredibly powerful, but in this case it might not tell 100% of the picture’
Dr Lindsay Starling
Reported in The Telegraph, World Rugby science and medical manager Dr Lindsay Starling said: ‘Everybody will be able to tell when a player has sustained a big head impact.
‘It will create awareness in the stands and for fans at home, as well as for the players and officials. It should mean that there is absolutely no delay in a player being pulled off for a HIA [head injury assessment]. Ultimately, this just helps to tell the story.’
Can gum shields detect a concussion?
The gum shields’ threshold for an alert has been set at 75Gs (g-force) for men and 65Gs for women, or 4,500 radians of rotational force for either gender. These are considered the 99th percentile of collision severity.
Dr Starling warned that the gum shields should not be seen as concussion detection devices, as large impacts do not always result in a concussion while much smaller ones also could.
She said: ‘What we need to be careful not to do is over-rely on the data or put too much power in the hands of the data. Obviously data is incredibly powerful, but in this case it might not tell 100% of the picture.
‘I think there is a world in which the data from the mouthguard can start to come into play a little bit more with foul play, but what I think everybody needs to understand is that in the same way a player can get concussed from a pretty small head impact, foul play [can have occurred] without registering anything substantial.’
Will the gum shields be used in lower levels of rugby?
The LED gum shields cost around £200 and require a custom dental scan which will cost a further £50. Dr Starling said she hopes this cost will come down to make the technology accessible at lower levels of rugby.
She added: ‘Roll-out is currently all the elite-level men’s and women’s, sevens and XVs tournaments and we will start moving more into the community game. If we’re honest, where we [will] really see the benefits of these mouthguards is in the community game.
‘The elite game has Hawk-Eye and medical doctors and physios and so many eyes on it. But really us being able to roll out a technology like this in the community game where they don’t have any of that; that’s the real value.’
The new gum shields will be used in world level rugby for the first time in the Women’s World Cup, beginning on 22 August with England versus the USA.
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