Any type of sport should be an activity that brings pleasure and joy. But, as we all know, there are some that have a high level of risk and danger associated with it due to its nature which jeopardizes all its benefits. Rugby is one of those sports.
Constant collisions are a threat to its player's well-being making it imperative to find a solution in order to tackle this problem.
If you ever had the chance to watch an American Football or Rugby match even if only for ten minutes, for sure you have noticed that collisions are a constant.
As years passed go by, bigger and faster bodies collide at higher speeds. Of course, all of this at a price. In recent years, findings made by professor Ann McKee have shown a straight link between these constant blows to the head and diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia and depression in American Football players.
We need to make sure that our athletes are safe and protected against such a big threat.
American Football is one of the most popular sport in the USA but it’s popularity didn’t stick overseas. In Europe there are just a handful of clubs making is extremely difficult to access information firsthand. Because Rugby has a similar nature and has a similar high level of injuries associated with its practice, the decision was made to shift the scope of the project from American Football to Rugby.
This project was the result of a research design process that lasted for 10 months.
The final report was delivered obtaining the Master’s title in Industrial Design by the Faculty of Architecture of Lisbon, Portugal.
Regarding my role, I planned the entire design process from start to end with regular feedback from my mentor Professor Mrs. Rita Almendra.
As a starting point, the research phase was conducted in order to understand the universe of collision sports and to get to know who these athletes are.
On your right, you can see three of the main methodologies used to gather all the information from the user.
A questionnaire was elaborated and answered by players from 6 different countries: Ireland, UK, Portugal, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.
A total amount of 64 players provided information about the type, limitations, frequency of usage and other relevant information regarding Rugby protection gear.
Here is a infographic summary of the most relevant information acquired.
During 10 months, in order to understand what Rugby is all about, I was a part of a Rugby team at TUDelft.
At this amazing club with a fantastic group, I was able to understand what this sport is all about and deepen my understanding of its dynamics.
These were the findings during this period of time that piqued my curiosity:
After analyzing and cross referencing all the material that resulted from both methodologies described before, a second literature review was conducted. Due to the high incidence and severity of concussions, I needed to understand its dynamics and what happens to the brain.
SafeCinetics is a system composed of a helmet with a smart mouthguard that incorporates a biosensor capable of detecting the t-Tau protein.
As it is released, the protein is detected in real time following an axonal injury resulting from a concussion.
The equipment helps players, trainers and technical team, as well as physicians, at the moment of the traumatic episode during the practice of Rugby.
©2021 Samantha Martinho
