Mouth guard can help coaches, players prevent concussions

WINTER HAVEN (FOX 13) - The football team at a Polk County school is testing out a new electronic mouth guard designed to prevent concussions.

“I think it could be revolutionary if it works the way we think it will,” Stuart Weiss, the Athletic Director of All Saints Academy told FOX 13.

The device contains a tiny transmitter. If a player gets hit exceptionally hard, the coach gets a message on his phone.

The notification tells him how hard the player was hit, where he was hit, and how fast the other guy was moving.

With that information, the coach can decide to take the player out of the game or advise him how to better protect himself next time.

“It can help us teach out a lot of bad habits,” said Weiss.

Weiss says a player can protect himself by, for example, raising his head. As a result, his body will take the impact instead.

The electronic mouth guard is made by Prevent Biometrics, which is testing it out at several schools around the country.

A company spokesman says divers, soccer players, martial artists, and others have tried the device, as well.

They are going to sell for about $100.