Irish firm joins battle against concussion

Rugby’s battle against concussion and other head injuries has been joined by an Irish company with its introduction to the market of a new protective headguard.

The husband and wife team of Mark Ganly and Dr Sandra Ganly have produced a guard which claims to reduce the force of impacts to the head by up to 75% compared with traditional products.

It is the first headguard to be approved by World Rugby for a new global law trial.

The trial, which will include competitive games across different grades around the world, has been devised to allow approved manufacturers to harvest more scientific information and the N-Pro has already undergone an extensive range of tests and feasibility studies by independent experts.

Mark Ganly has been in these waters before having brought the MARC hurling helmets to the market at the start of the decade. Dr Sandra Ganly is a biomechanical engineer and clinical researcher with expertise in developing products required for unmet clinical needs.

“The one thing the medical and scientific community agree on is that concussions can only occur where there is impact,” said Mark Ganley. “And we’re focusing on reducing that risk factor by reducing the force that is transferred to the head.

“We protect the areas of the head that are covered. Now, you can still get whiplash injuries or concussion impacts from being tackled around the hip. We’re not claiming anything about that. We’re just focusing on knocks to the head.”