Continuing Advances in Injury Prevention, MLR First to Trial LED Sensors for Concussion Monitoring

March 29, 2025 - Major League Rugby (MLR) News Release

DALLAS - Major League Rugby, as part of its ongoing efforts to advance prevention, diagnosis and treatment of injuries, has partnered with World Rugby and will be the first to trial LED light technology in its existing smart mouthguards to assist with early recognition of concussions.

Concussion prevention has been one of the league's major areas of focus in recent years. The concussion protocol is reviewed by the MLR Medical Committee each year to ensure players are receiving care that reflects the most up-to-date medical consensus on the identification, diagnosis and treatment of concussions.

In 2022, MLR moved from Recognize and Remove to the Head Impact Assessment (HIA). This progressed the game from permanently removing the player from the match anytime a suspected concussion occurred to providing the match and team medical staff the opportunity to perform a sideline assessment with the potential to return to play.

In 2024, Instrumented Mouth Guards (IMGs) were introduced in MLR. These smart mouthguards contain a sensor that provides an in-match alert if a player has experienced a high level of acceleration which could lead to a potential injury. This alert is received by the match day doctor so that the player can be removed for an HIA off-field.

For 2025, MLR and World Rugby have partnered to trial LED light technology for speed of recognition of an impact. The LED light will blink red which will add a visual cue for the team medical staff, referee and players to assist with early recognition that a high acceleration event has occurred.

Research has shown that continued participation in sport following a concussion potentially exposes the already injured brain to compounded neuropathophysiologic processes and can prolong the athlete's recovery. These equipment upgrades will allow for early recognition, and action on behalf of the medical staff, increasing player safety and shortening recovery times for athletes.

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