Award-winning mouthguard with motion sensors goes step further to helping understand concussion link to dementia
A young Aucklander has won a top technology prize for a concussion-detecting mouthguard as the evidence for links between concussion and dementia continues to grow.
Spencer Buchanan, a 22-year-old Massey University industrial design graduate, has designed a mouthguard with motion sensors, worn by rugby players to identify concussion risks after the player has taken a knock.
Buchanan, from Warkworth, won the New Zealand leg of the James Dyson Award, a global product design competition. He has been given $4000 to develop his invention.
"I've always been immersed in the rugby culture and played quite a bit of rugby growing up, actually suffering concussions," Buchanan said. "Rugby and concussion is a topical issue that is constantly under the spotlight.