CORE is a project initiated at greenTEG, an innovative company based in Zürich, Switzerland. Our goal was very simple: to improve the performance of athletes by filling the gap in sports performance science.
To achieve our goal, we merge three different fields of expertise: sensing technologies, physiological research, as well as sports science. The result is a wearable device capable of accurately monitoring core body temperature during athletic activities, normal daily life, and illness.
And while the catalyst for creating CORE is sports, the ability to conveniently monitor core body temperature is attractive far beyond performance sports and we have also identified strong interest for workforce protection where companies in various fields can use this to monitor and ensure worker health.
Wearables and core body temperature
Wearables are devices that track health status and physical performance with real-time monitoring of various body metrics. Wearables already available today are capable of tracking pulse, respiration rate, oxygen saturation, and blood pressure. However, there is no feasible technology to monitor core body temperature... yet. We have the necessary expertise and a team of talented people and our goal create this solution.
Why core body temperature? Because it is recognised as a critical vital parameter and real time-tracking can help athletes to improve their training and sporting performance. For instance, under thermal stress, 50 to 70% of cardiac output is used for active cooling. When an athlete can better understand their thresholds for thermal stress this can improve training and ultimately their effort regulation during competition. There are further applications, gains, and insights, some of them are already documented and well-known by athletes and trainers. But we also expect that our technology and the wealth of new data will lead to further insights.
This sounds nice... but it is not that simple. Monitoring core body temperature involves several elements:
- A new sensor from greenTEG to measure the thermal energy transfer accurately with a non-invasive method is the key component. Holding a thermometer in the mouth or ear while training is not an option!
- An advanced Artificial Intelligence algorithm capable of crunching data into feasible information. Raw data taken from sensors is not useful without an advanced model ensure it is accurate and is actionable.
- The insights from this algorithm should also make sense from a sports science perspective. We need to understand how core body temperature works during intense physical activity to develop a clear training model that will help athletes to improve their performance.
- Technically speaking, we need also to merge everything (sensor, algorithm, microcontroller and insight display) into a device. In our first use case, it will arrive as a chest patch.
All these components need to be developed from scratch. We have an advantage as we have experience and have already been working in these fields for several years.
At the same time, CORE requires us to reach beyond our own team. With the focus on sports performance we are actively engaging with leading coaches and athletes to develop a solution that makes sense and fulfills a real need. We have started working with cyclists and runners as these are accessible sports and are typically defined by the demands on sporting endurance.Even mentioning cycling and running automatically opens up many related and unrelated sports so this is our starting point and we already know of the appeal for CORE technology will reach well beyond this.
As we begin this journey, we welcome you onboard and invite you to track our progress. We intended to post regular updates covering the development of this technology and milestones. We also invite you to engage with us, if you have questions - let us know and in the near future we look forward to meeting you and hope that we can make a positive impact to your sporting performance.