Skinetix

Help your Athletes Thrive

Skinetix is a spin-off from imec and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). It develops smart sportswear to maximize athletes’ performance and speed up post-injury recovery.

This sportswear with integrated sensors records detailed movement and muscle activity. By enriching the data with a personalized biomechanical model, the Skinetix platform grants insights in muscle condition, movement quality and fatigue, allowing training to be adjusted according to the data. The spin-off brings together expertise in sensor technology and AI.  

As part of their PhDs and postdoctorate at VUB BruBotics, Skinetix co-founders Joris De Winter (photo left) and Kevin Langlois (photo right), together with imec and VUB, developed a patented way to measure muscle activity and performance in detail and bring them together in a scientifically based model for personalized biodynamic data. This data is not collected in a lab, but directly on the playing field. To that end, Skinetix designed sportswear with integrated electromyogram (EMG) sensors. These sensors capture the electrical impulses that our brain sends to the muscles during a specific movement. All of these sensors are seamlessly integrated into the sportswear.

Today, physical therapists and sports doctors use their eyes or cameras to analyze movements, which gives them only superficial and non-quantitative information. With Skinetix, sports professionals gain access to detailed information to map the quality of a movement and the function of a muscle. The measured data is transmitted to the Skinetix data platform, where the information is linked to a personalized biomechanical model of the athlete. Using AI, it becomes possible to map an individual player's evolution or to benchmark players - and generate insights to optimize the training program or rehabilitation plan to maximize athletes' performance or get them to rehabilitate faster.