What if optimising athletic performance was as simple as wearing smart clothing? Skinetix, a VUB spin-off, gives athletes and sports professionals unmatched insights into muscle function, all without invasive procedures. Their smart sportswear transforms real-time biological data into actionable insights for both training and recovery. Skinetix empowers athletes to push boundaries, recover faster, and minimise injuries.
The challenge: Performance insights are hard to obtain
In the demanding world of elite sports, every detail counts. Athletes face increasing physical loads, with faster competition turnarounds and more intense training, leading to shorter recovery times. This elevates the risk of overload, muscle fatigue, and injury. Yet, trainers and medical staff often rely on visual assessment, cameras, or basic motion analyses to evaluate athletes. These methods provide superficial and largely unquantifiable data on muscle activity and movement quality. Consequently, training schedules and rehabilitation plans are often based on incomplete information, which increases injury risk and slows the path to optimal recovery.
The solution: Smart sportswear for real-time insights
Skinetix offers a revolutionary solution through smart sportswear that genuinely propels athletes forward. Founded by VUB researchers Joris De Winter and Kevin Langlois, the spin-off company Skinetix stems from years of doctoral and postdoctoral research at VUB BruBotics, in collaboration with imec.
Skinetix's smart sportswear integrates electromyogram (EMG) sensors directly into the fabric, allowing for real-time measurement of muscle activity on the field. This data is not just collected; it is enhanced with a personalised biomechanical model of the athlete, and then processed through AI to provide a clear picture of muscle function, fatigue, and movement quality. It is a non-invasive approach that turns hidden biological responses into clear, actionable understanding.
The impact: Accelerating performance and recovery for all
From coaches to physiotherapists, Skinetix' smart sportswear can help sports professionals precisely tailor training, prevent injuries, and guide rehabilitation with unprecedented precision. And this is just the beginning.
While Skinetix is initially targeting elite sports – with football serving as its primary focus market – the technology's potential impact extends far beyond. In the medical sphere, particularly within neurological rehabilitation, Skinetix also holds the promise of significant added value. Consider patients recovering from a stroke, Parkinson's disease, or other neurological conditions where muscle control and movement quality are central to the recovery process. Based on the insights provided by Skinetix, therapists can make more targeted adjustments, refine exercises, and personalise recovery pathways. This not only enhances the efficacy of rehabilitation but also instils greater confidence and motivation in patients, as they can tangibly track their progress.
From research to real-world solution, Skinetix is changing how we understand and optimise human performance.
