IncludeHealth is teaming up with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to commercialize a new technology that allows athletes to correct their own biomechanics.
IncludeHealth, a digital health and performance technology company, has entered into a licensing agreement with the hospital to bring to market Augmented Neuromuscular Training (aNMT) technology developed by researchers there in conjunction with University of Cincinnati researchers. It uses camera-based real-time movement analysis and corrective feedback to help athletes and other at-risk groups change the way they move in order to reduce their risk for injury. The technology can also be used to boost an athlete’s performance.
Through this new partnership, IncludeHealth will integrate this new technology with its digital health platform to make it more accessible. The aNMT technology captures a patient’s movement on camera and then provides feedback on whether the movement was performed correctly or not. All feedback is in real-time so the patient can adjust movements immediately.
Greg Myer, Ph.D., director of The Human Performance Laboratory at Cincinnati Children’s and the director of Sport Performance Optimized by Research & Technology (SPORT) Center told OTW, that about 20 years ago they were recruited to solve anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, particularly for female athletes. The prevailing thought was that the greater risk for ACL injuries in females was due to female hormones or the differences in anatomy between females and males. Through their research though they were excited to discover that the root problem was actually bad biomechanics.
“We spent a decade trying to prevent injuries by altering biomechanics and developed a training program in the lab, but there were challenges disseminating it. Coaches and parents didn’t feel comfortable correcting an athlete’s biomechanics so we wanted to come up with a self-guided program.”
That is what they have been hyper-focused on for the last few years. Meyer describes the aNMT technology as a “trainer in a box” who does the assessment and diagnosis and then shows the patient how to correct their movements.
He said, “What is unique about our technology is that the athlete looks at the biofeedback and decides how to fix it, coming up with their own movement solution which makes it easier for them to maintain and apply in their sport.”
Meyer added that this technology can also be helpful for children with developmental deficits and elderly people who are at high-risk for falls.
Ryan Eder, founder and CEO of IncludeHealth whose mission is to lower barriers and improve access to health, wellness and performance told OTW, “Our job is to commercialize the research and make it affordable and mobile.”
