What's the discovery or innovation?

We collaborated with the Royal Children’s Hospital and the AFL to develop the groundbreaking Head Check app to educate parents, coaches, first aiders, and players when medical attention is needed.

Based on concussion guidelines, the evidence-based sideline assessment tool, in the HeadCheck App, uses questions and observations to help users recognise signs of suspected concussion and identify when an ambulance, hospital, or GP visit is needed.

The app records the patient’s symptoms and helps manage their safe return to school, study, work, exercise, and sport.

How is it changing children’s lives?

This free access to the best child concussion education and advice is improving the identification and management of youth concussion and preventing premature return to activities that may worsen symptoms and expose them to further head injuries.

Mental health should form part of any concussion management so we have also developed a Concussion podcast with Neuropsychologist Professor Vicki Anderson, and are trialling an intervention to prevent long-term problems and support return to normal activities.

The intervention combines education about a healthy lifestyle, with physiotherapy and psychology treatments to address symptoms including headache and fatigue, with early data showing it speeds up recovery.

More resources

• Concussion Podcast
• Concussion research
• MCRI and AFL team up to tackle concussion in kids