College athletes build AI-powered wearable designed that can predict injuries before they happen and speed healing
- Fathom AI relies on three small sensors to collect over 100 biometric readings
- The device will emphasize downtime and recovery and minimize overtraining
- The product is still in early testing but is planned to retail for $299
A new wearable app and sensor promises to help professional athletes minimize their risk of injury.
Developed by two former student athletes at Duke University, the app will use biodata from athletes to customize training routines for individual athlete in ways meant to minimize injury and prevent overtraining.
Called Fathom AI, the device consists of a smartphone app and three sticker-sized biosensors that attach to a person’s ankles and lower back and collects readings on more than 100 different biodata categories.
One of three small sensors used by Fathom AI to collect biodata from athletes and develop custom training advice and guidelines to minimize the risk of injury.
‘Many people don’t realize that the most effective injury prevention may start with just 10 or 15 minutes daily of data-driven prep and recovery to keep small things from becoming serious injuries,’ co-founder Ivonna Dumanyan told WRAL’s TechWire.
The sensors track fatigue, variation in performance between days and between exercises among many other metrics.
The metrics are analyzed by an AI to determine whether an athlete might be overtraining or pushing their body into states where injury could become more likely.
The tech can also work in concert with other biometric data apps like Apple Health or Garmin’s smart watches.
An AI-driven app will organize and interpret Fathom AI’s biometric data and customize advice for each individual athlete.
Fathom AI was founded by Gabrielle Levac (left) and Ivonna Dumanyan (right), two former student athletes at Duke University.
‘We essentially build this massive model on how you move that is unique to you,’ Dumanyan said.
‘From that, we create a hyper- personalized exercise plan to balance the stresses on your body and correct those imbalances.’
The devices are still in limited testing, but potential users can request access through the company’s website.
The plan is to eventually launch the sensors as a full commercial release, priced at $299 plus a $29 monthly subscription.
Fitness trackers have been popular in recent years, but it’s still unclear how accurate and effective the technology used in them is.
Last year, a survey of Fitbit monitors found they recorded an accurate count of steps a person took in a day at only around 50 percent of the time.
Garmin’s Vivosmart 4 generated headlines earlier this year when researchers discovered some of its units gave inaccurate distance readouts, requiring runners to travel as far as 37 miles before giving them credit for having done a 26.2-mile marathon.
In 2017, a man reported having his life saved by his Apple Watch, when it alerted him to a sudden elevation in heart rate that was brought on by a blood clot, something that could have killed him without emergency medical treatment.
‘Never thought a stupid lil’ wrist computer I bought two years ago would save my life,’ Green tweeted.
‘Saw my heart rate go up, ended up being a pulmonary embolism’