Sydney // A prototype headband to record brain trauma is being designed in Australia, researchers said Wednesday, as sports such as football and rugby around the world grapple with how to manage knocks to the head.
The experimental brainBAND technology has sensors to record the impact on players of hits on the field. It aims to transmit that data in real time to medics, coaches and referees.
Neuroscientist Alan Pearce said currently the question of whether a player is considered fit to remain on the field after a big tackle or head clash is a subjective matter debated on the sidelines.
“That’s at the elite level but at the non-elite level... there’s no one there to really assess them properly,” Pearce, from the Swinburne University of Technology, told AFP.
“Using the device can notify in real time that a player has had a head knock so we have an objective measure for them to come off the field.”
Read more: NFL linking American football to CTE could be the beginning of the end
The headband could also alert medics to trauma sustained from a glancing or seemingly harmless contact, he said, as the device has LED lights to indicate the severity of an impact.
“So the idea is that for weekend warriors if they get a head knock they can actually take that data... to the hospital and the emergency physician has some objective data to make a more accurate diagnosis,” he said.
The headband prototype, which has been tested in Australia by amateur rugby union players to fine tune its design, could also record the smaller knocks that can have a cumulative impact.
“It’s not necessarily the one or two big hits but it’s those constant, repetitive knocks to the head that don’t actually cause any symptoms that are leading to the long-term problems that a lot of the players are having,” he said.
Pearce, who worked with industrial designer Braden Wilson and Samsung on the device, said much more testing needed to be done.
But he said the hope was that understanding more about repeated concussions could help prevent damaging injuries at every level of the game.
Rugby union star Israel Folau, who switched to the sport following stints as a rugby league and Australian Rules football player, said he believed he had been lucky to avoid concussion so far in his career.
But he told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph that “raising awareness about the subject of concussion in sport is only ever a good thing”.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
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5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
