This spring Kansas football players will be taking the practice field with new mouthguards as concussion monitoring methods continue to expand.
The mouthguards, made available by Vector MouthGuards, Kansas football players will be using this spring are designed to measure the impact a player’s head takes during a collision and sends a digital alert to coaches and trainers when a hit is so severe it could lead to a concussion. This is just the latest effort in working new technology to raise awareness of head trauma, especially in football. The mouthguard is also designed to fit in a player’s mouth just like a regular mouthguard and should be inserted and removed with ease. The data recorded by the mouthguards can also be tracked over the course of a season.
The lifespan of the technology is only designed for one year, at least for now, and it costs $199 each. Kansas is expected to have 80 mouthguards available in the spring and The Kansas City Star reports the intent is to have one for every player during the season.
“It’s going to be a very huge undertaking, but for us the safety and health care of our student athletes is our number-one priority,” Kansas assistant athletics director Murphy Grant said. “If we can be a part of making the game safer – and keeping the game around – then we want to.”
With this being a new technology, many will be watching to see the feedback offered by Kansas moving forward. If the tech-enhanced mouthguards show positive results, look for this to become more of a regular part of the football uniforms moving forward along with advanced helmets that continue to go through various stages of advancements.