Take it from me- concussions are awful. There’s unrelenting dizziness, nausea and that foggy brain feeling, if you’re lucky. Those who fare worse can be left with permanent issues with balance, mood, memory and cognition.
A major cause of concussion is sport, where concussion management technology company HITIQ (ASX: HIQ) is working to reduce its incidence.
The Company designs and manufactures smart mouthguards that connect to a mobile application. The system allows for detection of significant head impacts and guides the user through an assessment of the injured athlete. The data recorded by the device is highly useful to medical professionals in assessing and managing concussion symptoms.
Since their ASX debut in early June the Company has signed multiple partnerships with sporting clubs and leagues across the globe. The latest addition is a bit closer to home, with HITIQ signing a partnership with private health fund Bupa Dental.
Bupa led a pilot trial of HITIQ’s tech in Australian junior rugby. Following successful objectives and trial endpoints being met, Bupa will now cover reimbursement under eligible extras cover and offer the product to their customer base via Bupa Dental Care.
The move into this new market is significant as HITIQ seeks to encompass more sports at all levels, especially at a grassroots level.
Bupa Dental plans to commence a marketing campaign for the tech in the new year which will target both Bupa’s existing customer base and the general public.
HITIQ CEO, Mike Vegar commented on the strategic partnership, saying: “We are excited to formalise this relationship with Bupa Dental Care on the back of a successful proof of concept phase earlier in the year. Our founding vision was based on building technology that could have meaningful impact on the health outcomes of athletes across the world, amateurs and children included.
“Together with Bupa Dental Care, we are making significant strides towards realising that vision and allowing the grassroots markets access to our technology platform. Our goal is to provide easy-to-use technology, which parents can use to more easily identify risk and implement the appropriate interventions.”
The Bupa partnership follows on a busy few weeks for HITIQ which last month acquired concussion assessment software company CSX for $1.1m, bringing onboard 45,000 of their customers which are spread out across more than 60 professional sports leagues.
Samantha Freidin is a business journalist at Emerald Financial whilst also completing a Masters of Marketing and Digital Communications at Monash University.
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