Players wear the xPatch behind the ear © Courtsey: X2 Biosystems

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In Focus: Concussion debate

Sydney's Randwick rugby club will trial a potentially revolutionary concussion device in this year's Shute Shield competition.

Randwick's first-grade side will wear the xPatch device in each of their fixtures this season, starting with this weekend's opening round against Eastwood. Worn behind the ear, the device, developed by X2 Biosystems in Seattle, United States, records impact levels in contact in both G and rotational force and then transmits the data to a computer. The device has been used in various sports across the United Kingdom and the United States, and looks to be a fine step in the assessment, and management, of concussion injuries.

About the size of a 10 cent coin, the xPatch is stuck on the player with special adhesive tape. Dr Adrian Cohen, the founder of NeckSafe and an expert in neck and head injuries, lauded the device at Randwick's season launch earlier this week.

"One of the things that interested me was the role of technology and actually getting some objectivity into what is going on," Cohen said. "A lot of these things are subjective ... 'Did you see the hit? Was it a big hit? How is he playing? How is he feeling?'

"Head and neck injuries in sport are part and parcel of any contact sport.

"The biosensor won't detect concussion, but the data can be downloaded and paired with video of contact moments to provide knowledge of what leads to head injuries. We need to understand what impacts are involved, what forces are transmitted to the head - both in 'G force' and in rotational force as well - which caused the damage."

The Seattle-developed device has previously been used by England's Saracens club.