The QMJHL is constantly striving to increase the safety of its players and, to this end, is adding a new technological tool, BrainEye, to its concussion detection protocol.
BrainEye is an application that tracks the player’s eye movement and provides an objective measure that will be added to the protocol, to provide additional information to help the doctor make the right diagnosis.
Already, BrainEye – an Australian company – has carried out tests on over 110,000 athletes, including many players of Australian football, a sport similar to rugby. These tests have been carried out in 16 countries and, in 2025, this total will increase to 20.
“The special thing about BrainEye is that it’s an objective measurement that will give the doctor more information before making a diagnosis. I would like to thank the QMJHL’s Chief Medical Officers, Michael Czarnota and Neil Branch, for their advice and support in this project. The safety of our players is always a priority”, explains QMJHL Commissioner Mario Cecchini.
“Aberrant eye movements are a well-known feature of concussion, just think of how many times you see an injured player asked to follow a finger, points out BrainEye Chief Scientific Officer, A. Professor Joanne Fielding. It’s an important component of the sideline examination but is entirely subjective. By sensitively measuring change in the way a player tracks a moving target with their eyes, the BrainEye app provides an objective measure of brain function, that can not only assist a medical professional in making a diagnosis of concussion but can track any change in brain function over time.”
The QMJHL would also like to point out that in its meetings with equipment manufacturers, helmet manufacturers in particular, it encourages them to continue, and even accelerate, their research to constantly improve this piece of equipment so important to player safety.
