ArticleAnnals of biomedical engineering2026
Assessing the Efficacy of GameBreaker Softshell Headgear in Reducing Peak Head Kinematics.
Article in Annals of biomedical engineering, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThis study evaluates the impact-attenuation of two softshell headgear models, GameBreaker-Pro and GameBreaker-Prototype, in controlled drop tests. These models were selected to assess the effect of thickness, given the 12 mm thickness constraint specified under World Rugby Law 4 Trial regulations for which limited justification exists.
methodsDrop tests were conducted using a Hybrid III headform and neck, from heights of 15, 30, 45, and 60 cm onto a flat Modular Elastomer Programmer (MEP) surface. Impacts were delivered across five orientations; forehead, front boss, rear boss, rear, and side, to simulate a range of plausible on-field rugby impact scenarios. Peak linear acceleration (PLA), peak rotational acceleration (PRA), and peak rotational velocity (PRV) were measured across four headgear conditions: GameBreaker-Pro, GameBreaker-Prototype, NPro (World Rugby Law 4 Trial approved), and a no-headgear baseline.
resultsAll headgear models demonstrated reductions in impact kinematics relative to the no-headgear baseline. GameBreaker-Pro yielded the highest composite reductions (peak accelerations across all orientations), lowering PLA by 32.3% and PRA by 43.4%, followed closely by GameBreaker-Prototype with reductions of 30.4% and 42.2%, respectively. Both GameBreaker models showed consistent attenuation across drop heights and orientations, with particularly strong performance in the side (reductions of 43.5% and 37.1% in PLA, 59.1% and 54.3% in PRA).
conclusionThese findings demonstrate that softshell headgear can reduce head impact severity across diverse conditions. This underscores the need for ongoing refinement of headgear design and regulatory standards to better safeguard athletes from repeated intensive head impacts.
Indexed as
Identifiers
42380693What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.