Abstract
Background: Head-on-head impacts are a risk factor for concussion, which is a concern for sports. Computer vision frameworks may provide an automated process to identify head-on-head impacts, although this has not been applied or evaluated in rugby.
Methods: This study developed and evaluated a novel computer vision framework to automatically classify head-on-head and non-head-on-head impacts. Tackle events from professional rugby league matches were coded as either head-on-head or non-head-on-head impacts. These included non-televised standard-definition and televised high-definition video clips to train (n=341) and test (n=670) the framework. A computer vision framework consisting of two deep learning networks, an object detection algorithm and three-dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks, was employed and compared with the analyst-coded criterion. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value were reported.
Results: The overall performance evaluation of the framework to classify head-on-head impacts against manual coding had a sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (95% CIs) of 68% (58% to 78%), 84% (78% to 88%) and 0.61 (0.54 to 0.69) in standard-definition clips, and 65% (55% to 75%), 84% (79% to 89%) and 0.61 (0.53 to 0.68) in high-definition clips.
Conclusion: The study introduces a novel computer vision framework for head-on-head impact detection. Governing bodies may also use the framework in real time, or for retrospective analysis of historical videos, to establish head-on-head rates and evaluate prevention strategies. Future work should explore the application of the framework to other head-contact mechanisms and also the utility in real time to identify potential events for clinical assessment.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | ip-2023-045129 |
| Journal | Injury Prevention |
| Early online date | 19 Jan 2025 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 19 Jan 2025 |
Data Availability Statement
All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.Funding
AJG has a clinical practice in neuropsychology involving individuals who have sustained sport-related concussion. He is a contracted concussion consultant to Rugby Australia. He is the global clinical lead for the World Rugby Brain Health Service. He is a member of the World Rugby Concussion Working Group, and a member of the Australian Football League Concussion Scientific Advisory Committee. He has received travel funding or been reimbursed by professional sporting bodies, and commercial organisations for discussing or presenting sport-related concussion research at meetings, scientific conferences, workshops, and symposiums. Previous grant funding includes the NSW Sporting Injuries Committee, the Brain Foundation (Australia), an Australian-American Fulbright Commission Postdoctoral Award, a Hunter New England Local Health District, Research, Innovation and Partnerships Health Research & Translation Centre and Clinical Research Fellowship Scheme, and the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), supported by Jennie Thomas, and the HMRI, supported by Anne Greaves. He is currently supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Investigator Grant. He acknowledges unrestricted philanthropic support from the Tooth Foundation for concussion research and the National Rugby League for research in former professional rugby league players.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Fulbright Australia | |
| Brain Foundation | |
| Hunter Medical Research Institute | |
| Hunter New England Local Health District, Research, Innovation and Partnerships Health Research & Translation Centre | |
| National Health and Medical Research Council | |
| Tooth Foundation | |
| Jennie Thomas |
Keywords
- Concussion
- Recreation / Sports
- Sports / Leisure Facility
- Traumatic Brain Injury
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
