Neurological Foundation presents: Understanding Concussion

Rugby union is a popular contact sport played by 7.7 million players in 129 countries. The physical contact and collisions inherent in rugby increase the risk of children being exposed to concussion, representing significant health issues.

Please join us for presentations from Professor Nick Draper, University of Canterbury who focuses on accurately measuring the number and size of collisions in rugby to assess the potential of World Rugby approved headgear to reduce collision forces and Associate Professor Sam Holdsworth of the Matai Institute is a medical physicist with 22 years of experience in new and advanced MRI methods. She is a pioneer of super-fast, high resolution MRI methods and amplified MRI (a new method of visualising brain motion).

Formerly, as a Senior Researcher at Stanford University, she successfully translated a variety of her MRI methodologies to clinical practice. Her methodologies led to improved detection and diagnosis of brain disorders and disease. She is involved in a number of medical research initiatives, including traumatic brain injury, ADHD, methamphetamine, neurogenerative disease, and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Prof Draper and Dr Holdsworth will be joined by Dr Josh McGeown, whose first-hand experience with the negative effects of concussion led him to research how to better rehabilitate people after a concussion. Josh will discuss how the team is using cutting-edge technology in hopes of finding methods that better inform concussion diagnosis and treatment.

After the presentation, there will be light refreshments and a chance to mix & mingle with the presenters and other guests.