Though they have eyes like a hawk, the Atlanta Hawks are partnering with a startup to monitor their performance through eye tracking analytics.
SyncThink, a Palo Alto-based neurotechnology startup, has partnered with the Atlanta Hawks to adopt the SyncThink platform. The technology, which tracks eye movement, will be used by Atlanta's NBA team by performance and medical staff this season to monitor the players for the accumulation of fatigue during the season, as well as to proactively identify risks that could lead to injury.
“The Atlanta Hawks are an ideal partner for us in many ways,” SyncThink CCO Scott Anderson said in a statement. “As we partner with more cutting-edge organizations, we’re realizing they too have novel ideas about how they want to utilize and interpret the data they’re collecting, in an effort to better understand fatigue and the risks associated with poor visual attention. It’s very exciting to consider the possibilities.”
The Atlanta Hawks are just one of several NBA franchises to use objective eye-tracking metrics to evaluate performance readiness and potential risk of injury to players with poor dynamic vision or those that sustain a visual injury during the season.
The Hawks now join the Golden State Warriors, athletic conferences such as the Pac 12, as well as numerous hospitals and clinics such as Massachusetts General and the U.S. Military.
“We are thrilled that the Atlanta Hawks have selected SyncThink as part of their ambitious health and performance optimization plan,” Laura Yecies, CEO, said in a statement.
The SyncThink platform offers objective insights into athletic performance as professional teams and leagues continue to evaluate methods and best practices to combat the cumulative effect of fatigue that occurs in players over the course of the season, according to a news release.
By monitoring deteriorating dynamic vision as a result of fatigue in a VR environment, the SyncThink platform is equipped to identify, retrain and optimize the brain’s performance so athletes can avoid injury and reach their performance goals. These metrics can be used by clinicians and performance professionals to make informed decisions about their players performance.
