Computer scientists address gap in messaging privacy

Rugby players from Aviva Premiership Rugby and Greene King IPA Championship are to take part in a major study led by the University of Birmingham as part of its work to develop a ground-breaking pitch-side test to diagnose concussion and brain injury. The study, being carried out in collaboration with the Rugby Football Union (RFU), Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players' Association, will run throughout the 2017/18 rugby season and is the biggest of its kind to take place in the history of UK sport. It is a key element in the University of Birmingham's research programme to create a test that can be performed rapidly pitch-side and will determine whether a player has been concussed. The study is part of the University of Birmingham's REpetitive COncussion in Sport (RECOS) project. The test also has the potential to assist in return to play decisions and could be used across sports, from grassroots to professional level. It is hoped it could also be used more widely by frontline medics in the NHS and military to improve diagnosis and treatment within the first critical hour after brain trauma. The team at the University's College of Medical and Dental Sciences, led by neurosurgeon Professor Tony Belli , has spent the last nine years carrying out research which has led to the development of a test that measures biomarkers present in the saliva and urine of players.