FRONT LINE RUGBY RESEARCH

Rugby mouth guards fi tted with sensors that measure the impact of collisions on the brain, laboratorybased human-head-shaped test dummies, and MRI scanning and in-depth neurological testing.

All these latest-technology measures are part of a new Canterbury Medical Research Foundation-funded study aimed at solving a simple, real-world problem– how to minimise harm from collisions in the next generation of rugby players.

University of Canterbury Professor Nick Draper is a former Olympic level judo manager and selector, and now worldrenowned sports scientist. He has been awarded more than $100,000 by the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation (CMRF) to conduct a two-year study into head collisions in junior rugby and the potential of World Rugby-sanctioned head gear to reduce impacts.

The CMRF will raise the money for Nick’s research at their annual Wine and Art Gala on Saturday, October 16.

CMRF Chair Geo Cranko says the foundation is delighted to be able to support a project which could have such a fundamental impact on the health and well-being of young Cantabrians and the safe future of the game for all players.

Nick has three sons who play rugby for the Waihora Rugby Club, where he also coaches. Watching his boys and their teammates was one of the inspirations for his New Zealand-fi rst study. His experience seeing the impact of concussions in a range of sports was another powerful motivator. “As I’ve watched kids play rugby, I wondered what I could do as a researcher to make the game safer for the next generation of players and All Blacks.”

Nick’s study will follow two junior rugby teams over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. All players will wear mouth guards fi tted with sensors to record the speed and acceleration of impacts. A videographer will capture play to ensure mouth guards are measuring collisions rather than players chomping down. Players can choose whether to wear the head gear or not – giving researchers the opportunity to look at the measure of protection.

Nick and his team will then take the data gathered on the fi eld and use a laboratory rig fi tted with an instrumented human-shaped head form to simulate the impact, and potential damage to the brain.

“This technology can mimic what happens with collisions in the real world. The di erence between wearing head gear or not will be the degree to which head gear can mitigate the impact of collisions and potentially concussion as may be shown in the laboratory. There is a real lack of research in this area. It’s exciting to get funding from the CMRF because this research could have real potential for reducing harm.”

To secure your tickets to the 2021 Wine and Art event or to make a donation to Professor Draper’s project, call 03 353 1240 or visit the website below.

Jan Blair, Senior Administrator Sam Sloane, Senior Audiologist and Co-director Anna Cleary, Senior Ear Nurse

Now hear this

From the moment you walk through the door of the recently established Bellbird Hearing clinic you have a sense of a warm and caring environment. The waiting area is inviting; the staff welcoming – a place designed to overcome any reluctance patients may associate with requiring treatment for hearing loss.

We are a fully independent and locally-owned hearing clinic amongst corporate competitors,” says senior audiologist and company codirector Sam Sloane. “Being independent means we offer truly personalised care. We can take time with each individual to find the solution that best fits their needs - not merely a good solution, but a great one - selecting from a wide range of the latest hearing aid technology.”

One hearing solution is a new type of hearing device called the Phonak Lyric. Sam says he is looking for 10 people to take part in a 30-day trial of this exclusive technology. “Lyric is a unique hearing aid. Unlike other hearing aids, it’s inserted deeply into the ear canal by the audiologist and is worn 24/7. You sleep and shower with it so it will support better hearing in all situations. It is completely invisible and offers a very natural sound as it doesn’t affect the acoustics of the outer ear.”

Sam adds that people may not be aware that they have lost aspects of their hearing and tend to delay having a hearing test for years. “It’s the high frequency and the softer sounds that disappear first – soft speech consonants, a car indicator or a fridge beeping; the sound of rain falling and native bird song. It happens so gradually that people don’t perceive the change and often report that their hearing is fine and say people just don’t speak clearly enough.”

Perhaps you might be experiencing a ringing or a hissing sound in your ears that you hadn’t been aware of previously. Perhaps you feel that people around you in a social situation are mumbling; or perhaps your family are telling you that your TV is turned up far too loud.

“These signs might indicate a build-up of wax in the ear or they might indicate some level of hearing loss. We can carry out a free, no obligation hearing screening to determine what the issue is. If it’s wax, that can be removed safely, gently and painlessly by our own registered ear nurse using a scope and micro-suction tool.

If we identify some other cause for the symptoms, we can then begin the process of helping clients on the road to better hearing by either referring for medical treatment or fitting the appropriate hearing aids.”

If you or someone you care about is having hearing problems, call Sam today on 03 351 1172. Bellbird Hearing is located at 240 Ilam Road.