The Athlete of the future

Photo: The key to the smart mouth guard was the use of uricase, an enzyme that specifically reacts with uric acid. (Photo courtesy of UC San Diego)

Athletes lead a very organized lifestyle ripe with detailed workout routines, strict diets, and other types of conditioning geared towards their sport. As athletes advance in their careers, various sensing technologies are implemented to regulate their progression. Wearable, fitness-tracking technology is a bourgeoning industry, but what if there were a way to replace the apps, wires, and other sensing technologies with something more subtle and more efficient? Consider a Fitbit watch or health app that's always connected, and instead of toggling through a screen to get your information, you can customize the data to be received on any device you please. A small, implanted monitoring device  could advise the individual of their diet, routine, and upcoming activities without the user having to check in before or after. This kind of device would potentially declutter the athletes ecosystem, allowing he or she to focus on their goals instead of constantly monitoring screens with their trainers and coaches. In addition to benefiting the "regular" athlete, individuals with prosthetics would have an advantage because the device would easily store itself into the users prosthetic limb, allowing the athlete to conceal the tech without thinking twice. 

A recent incarnation of an integrated athlete sensing and monitoring concept is the Smart Mouth Guard developed by engineers at the University of California, San Diego. The prototype was developed as a non-invasive wearable mouthguard that monitors the users health levels, including their lactate, cortisol, and uric acid. The information gathered from sensing biotracers in saliva, and the data is tracked, digitized, and stored in a small chip near the center of the mouthguard. Once the information is gathered, it is transmitted to a smartphone, tablet or personal computer in the form of plain text. [1]

Photo: An athlete in motion wearing a customized 3D-printed prosthetic leg specialized for running.

While this iteration of a wearable tech is plausible for athletes, it is still in its infancy and has yet to be tested in a real athletes mouth. In addition, this kind of adaptation is far from a stage of true integration with the human body. In regards to accommodating athletes who have lost a limb, the democratization of 3D-printing technologies has allowed the industry to create personalized, almost superior replicas of the lost limb. Some of these luxury prosthetics come equipped with integrated biotechnologies that can sense the users health and transmit the information (similar to that of the Smart Mouth Guard) but this niche bio-integration market is far from mainstream due to the relatively low amount fo amputees in the United States (around 200,000 per year). [2]

Photo: An individuals prosthetic hand dubbed “Raptor Reloaded” in action.

While athletic prosthetics are on track to become more integrated into the users biochemistry, a true implant that mimics this technology is still not a reality. The British television series Black Mirror has toyed with the idea of a implant in a few different episodes, yet their examples are not catered directly towards the athlete. On one occasion, in an episode titled "The Entire History of You", characters are able to simply adhere a small, opaque disk the size of a quarter to their temple in order to tap into the history of what they've seen. [3] This fictional example of an interconnected device is an interesting example of integrating technology into the user, and one could imagine an athlete reliving past competitions or events in order to gage what he or she could have done differently.

Photo: A still image of a woman recalling her past using a a fictional, coin-like device in the Black Mirror episode "The Entire History of You". 

Despite these examples fluctuating between science fiction and reality, we are on the verge of experiencing a new form of athlete; one that is faster, stronger, bigger, and better than ever before. With advancements on the peripheries of bio tech, athletes are becoming increasingly proficient, and some day, we will see athletes merge more with technology, integrating wearables, implants, and more into the human body. 

Notes:
1. Anonymous. A Smart Mouth Guard to Track Health Markers in Real Time https://www.mddionline.com/smart-mouth-guard-track-health-markers-real-time (accessed Apr 2, 2018).

2. Jones, C.; Ingham, L.; VR Intelligence. How science and tech are creating the athlete of the future http://factor-tech.com/feature/how-science-and-tech-are-creating-the-athlete-of-the-future/ (accessed Apr 2, 2018).

3.The Entire History of You https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Entire_History_of_You (accessed Apr 2, 2018).

4. Feldman, R. Sensor Technologies are changing the way Sports Teams and Athletes view & analyze the game. Pro sports will never be the same https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/sensor-technologies-changing-way-sports-teams-athletes-feldman (accessed Apr 2, 2018).