The Juniors Focus On Brain Health

The Juniors Focus On Brain Health

The Juniors Foundation will launch in July 2023 with NeuroFlex brain health tests as one of its 5 pillars. NeuroFlex® uses Virtual Reality (VR) technology to provide scientifically validated and precise measurements of brain health.

I’m not just writing this story about NeuroFlex to support The Juniors foundation, I actually believe that this new form of testing will help prevent the terrible post career devastation that players and families are forced to endure due to repeated head knocks.

The problem was that players were returning to the field or just playing on before their brains had fully recovered from a concussion and we know now that doing that was a recipe for disaster. This testing will prevent that, ensuring that no one returns before their brain has returned to normal function and as a result long term brain health will be improved dramatically.

The brain is undoubtedly the most critical organ in the human body. It is responsible for regulating all of our body’s functions and our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

As such, it is vital to maintain optimal brain health to lead a fulfilling life. Unfortunately, there are several factors that can negatively affect brain health. Examples are concussion, stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, and underlying medical conditions.

While the focus of this article is NeuroFlex and concussion, it is clear that this new technology can be beneficial for a wide range of brain related issues.

NueroFlex Press Conference

On Wednesday the 22nd of February the day began when Stephen Fenech from TechGuide appeared on the Today Show to talk about NueroFlex.

When Stephen was asked if the NueroFlex technology would have helped his brother Mario he said “Absolutely I wish this technology was around and had existed when he and I were playing. It would have given him a better picture of his brain health”.

“So the idea of the technology is to do the test to establish what a healthy brain looks like. You do the baseline with the NueroFlex so you know this is your score as your healthy brain. If there is a concussion you do the test again and you can then see the difference. It’s there in black and white. It’s objective data, it’s not open to interpretation and it will allow the club or the team to create a safe path to return to play”.

“Unfortunately when my brother was playing it was a bit of a badge of honour to get up off the ground and keep playing. He wanted to play every week, he was one of the most competitive players in the NRL my brother”.

“Now he’s forced to pay the price but if he had this technology it would have shown his state of brain health and they would have told him you need another week or two before you come back on the field. That way his brain could have healed and got back to normal state rather than having repeated knocks”.

“Instead now that damage is permanent so yeah it’s absolutely a game changer…I hope the NRL is listening to this”.

What Is NeuroFlex?

NeuroFlex Test is a set of protocols (each under 60 seconds) in Virtual Reality that measure the subject’s eyes and head position as they perform simple tasks. Each test is designed to evaluate a specific brain health reflex.

The technology consists of a laptop, VR goggles and the NeuroFlex Software. It is light, portable and easy to use.

The NeuroFlex Test is under 8 minutes of eye-tracking and head movement in VR focused on a set of scientifically validated ocular motor functions. Within seconds, the NeuroFlex Software analyses the test data with its proprietary algorithms and deidentified data bank to generate an accurate, quantitative and metrics-based report.

Track Recovery Up To Months After Injury

Most concussion tests stop working within a short period after the initial injury. This means there’s no way to know if someone is getting better over time. For people with lasting symptoms, this is incredibly frustrating. NeuroFlex measures brain function health objectively by looking at pure reflexes, so it doesn’t lose accuracy or sensitivity over time. This means that you can track patient progress at every step of recovery.

Taking The Test

Stephen Fenech took the NeuroFlex test while I filmed and we were both immediately convinced of its effectiveness.

The Juniors chairman Keith McCraw also took the test and found it to be an interesting experience. The Juniors have decided to use NeuroFlex test their 3000 juniors players and Keith has given it the thumbs up.

Conclusion

Maintaining optimal brain health is critical for overall wellbeing. Neuroflex technology provides a comprehensive assessment of cognitive function, enabling individuals to take control of their brain health. With an increasing number of organizations adopting Neuroflex technology worldwide, it is clear that this technology will play a significant role in brain health management in the years to come.

The Juniors are leading the way in supporting this new technology which I believe will eventually be used by every sporting organisation that is serious about player welfare.

The Juniors Focus On Brain Health

By Steve Mavin for Bunnies TV.