Springbok Analytics announces advanced mobile MRI capabilities for elite sports organizations
Launching first with University of Wisconsin Athletics, this approach ushers in a new era of leveraging imaging for personalized athlete performance, training and injury management
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., July 10, 2023 /CNW/ - Springbok Analytics (www.springbokanalytics.com) announced today its new mobile MRI capabilities, first launched with the University of Wisconsin's men's and women's basketball programs last month. Springbok, trusted by elite teams, leagues and coaches across the NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and collegiate athletics, is delivering comprehensive, team-wide imaging and rapid muscle and tendon analytical services to its sports partners. Its technology turns a standard MRI into a 3D digital twin of an athlete's musculature, transforming how teams approach training, performance programming and injury management.
"The mobile MRI unit makes data collection extremely fast and efficient. We can complete an entire team in less than one day and not have to worry about student-athlete transportation or scanner availability," said Bryan Heiderscheit, Vice-Chair, Orthopedics and Director of Badger Athletic Performance at the University of Wisconsin. "We have a strong commitment to advancing the science of athlete care and performance at Wisconsin. By incorporating metrics obtained from a Springbok scan with our robust biomechanical and physiological testing, we hope to better understand how muscle and tendon morphology and potential asymmetries influence an athlete's performance."
MRI is regarded as the gold standard in imaging and the most advanced method for measuring muscle volume and muscle health. At UW-Madison, Springbok partnered with Shared Medical Services (SMS) to utilize a state-of-the art GE HealthCare SIGNATM Voyager AIR Edition Mobile MRI to scan the basketball players, acquiring full lower extremity images with tendon data in under 20 minutes of scan time. "MRI scanners are expensive and are not on-site at many universities or sports training facilities," said Paul Zahn, Vice President of Business Development at SMS. "Springbok can now deliver this essential technology directly to teams, reducing the time and logistical complications of sending athletes to hospitals or imaging centers." SMS brings expertise to this partnership through mobile imaging collaborations with official health care providers of professional sports teams and collegiate programs across the country.
In addition to individual muscle volume and health data, Springbok users are able to compare muscle data across specific populations (sport and position, for example) to better inform preventive care and training, injury recovery, and return-to-play protocols. "The health and welfare of our student-athletes is a responsibility that we embrace, and one that they should expect. We need to take a holistic approach that enhances the opportunities and experiences of our student-athletes, both during their playing days at UW and beyond," said Michael Moll, the University of Wisconsin Assistant AD for Sports Medicine.
"We are incredibly excited to see this vision become reality as we can now offer and scale our technology to and across entire organizations and athletic departments with multiple teams, with the goal of becoming a standard part of the off-season and in-season health and performance programs of sports organizations at every level," said Springbok CEO and Co-Founder Scott Magargee.
Transform your view of muscle with Springbok Analytics. To learn more, please visit www.springbokanalytics.com.
Springbok's technology transforms standard, 2D magnetic resonance image (MRI) data into personalized 3D muscle visualizations for athletic, performance and health applications. Springbok has created a new way to view and quantify muscle volume, quality and asymmetries for precision health insights and performance optimization.
SOURCE Springbok Analytics
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