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- Athletes that get rough on the field might rest easy with companies like Impression Healthcare pushing ‘smart mouthguard’ technology around the world
- The device, called FiTGuard, was developed by Force Impact Technologies and Impression recently landed it as the official protection sponsor for Aussie Boxers at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
- FiTGuard features small electronic sensors, sending real time data of large impacts to help bring injured players off the field for instant head treatment
- Today, Impression Healthcare announced FiTGuard will be reaching athletes in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and more
Contact sports have been under fire by the greater public for some time now, due to fear of concussions and brain trauma.
Impression Healthcare is an ASX listed company looking to push a ‘smart mouthguard’ technology further – a device that reads when you get a concussion.
The technology is called the ‘FiTGuard’, developed by Force Impact Technologies.
Recently, Impression already landed a deal for FiTGuard to be the official protection sponsor of Boxing Australia’s athletes for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Today, the company has announced an aggressive global expansion campaign.
Joining users in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, FiTGuard will be hitting shores in China, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore and more.
How does the technology work? Small electronic sensors sit inside the conventional looking mouth guard, giving real time data when forceful impact is sustained. The technology is aimed at pulling athletes off the field after a big blow.
“The FitGuard is the most sophisticated smart mouthguard on the market today; providing accurate data measurements on cranial acceleration in a package barely larger than a regular mouthguard,” said Impression Healthcare CEO Joel Latham.
Impression Healthcare claims this expansion covers half of the world’s population.
The company has more ideas up its sleeve though. Impression normally deals in treating cranial functions with CBD oil, or marijuana extracts known as cannabidiol. The expansion of FiTGuard is a move to combine the practices.
“Treatment of concussion should come after accurate monitoring of concussion and the FiTGuard works to provide a platform for player treatment with synthetic CBD,” said Joel.
CBD is commonly used to treat alzheimer’s, epilepsy and cancer and has received a great push in the business sector the past few years.
“With increasing public concern related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (‘CTE’) resulting from contact sports, we’re confident of generating strong market interest in the FiTGuard now that player mental health is receiving the attention it deserves,” he added.
Meanwhile, the company is conducting marijuana treatment research at Melbourne’s Swinburne University. Impression is looking into treating traumatic brain injury with CBD in collaboration with institution Medical Cannabis Research.
The companies are still organising the clinical trial to commence soon.
Recently, THC-Free CBD was ruled legal for athlete consumption by the World Anti-Doping Authority and the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.
CBD that is free of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, means the consumer won’t get the normal ‘high’ effects of marijuana.
Today, share prices in IHL are unchanged, continuing trade for 6.3 cents each. Impression Healthcare’s market cap is most recently valued for $38.8 million.
