Competing in the Winter Olympics is tough, and it can be dangerous. Hurtling down at close to 90 miles an hour; launching through the air for 250 meters from a ski-jump; and other feats that push the boundaries of human endurance can lead to injuries or physiological changes that require monitoring. With the 2018 Pyeongchang County event, gone are the days of a full medical exam; this is the age of digital health technology.
For the 23rd games in South Korea, the company GE Healthcare has launched a digital technology designed to provide real-time analytics relating to injuries and illnesses for athletes competing across all disciplines. The digital tracker has been designed in partnership with the International Olympic Committee.
The platform collects information, according to PharmaPhorum, including athlete injury and illness data. This can trended with venue, sport and training procedures. This sophisticated matching enables clinicians to obtain an overview view of an athlete’s health for rapid treatment decisions, as well as assessing with sports are most likely to lead to issues. If the system is successful it will be used at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.
The platform is called the GE Athlete Management Solution. Data is collected through imaging scans, patient vitals, plus information about the venue, event and sport. The data is displayed via a real-time dashboard, for the trend reviews. Bespoke views can be obtained for medics so that personalized treatments for athletes can be designed. Information is also collated by any medical incidents involving spectators.
In a statement, Dr. Jorg Debatin, Vice President & Chief Technology Officer for GE Healthcare said: ““Olympians train for many years to represent their nations at the Games. Their Herculean efforts must be matched with superhuman clinical speed and quality. AMS helps clinicians do just that – by making data and actionable insights readily available to the treating clinicians.
The platform uses cloud-based technology, and there are security protocols in place. Data can be accessed remotely by approved medics worldwide. The processed information can be displayed in multiple languages, such as English, French, Arabic, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, German, Spanish and Korean.
