GE, U.S. Olympic Committee partner for ultrasound research
The U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and General Electric, in preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, have developed two research programs aimed at demonstrating that health monitoring and early intervention leads to injury prevention and enhanced health and sports performances for athletes.
The first program is a cardiac clinical research study with top U.S. Olympic athletes and hopefuls on the U.S. Men’s Rowing and USA Weightlifting teams while the second initiative will monitor the musculoskeletal health of athletes competing for USA Weightlifting, USA Boxing, USA Wrestling and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, according to GE.
The two studies are continuations from research programs at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
“Every day an Olympic athlete spends in rehab is a day lost in training, making earlier injury diagnosis and real-time recovery monitoring crucial for elite performance,’’ said Michael Reed, MD, U.S. Olympic Committee medical director, performance services division. “It is increasingly important that as a National Olympic Committee, we have the most innovative tools to help predict, diagnose, treat and monitor sports injuries earlier to ensure a quick return to play.’’
Cardiac research program set to build off results from Torino
A clinical study of USA Weightlifting and U.S. Men’s Rowing, led by Malissa Wood, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center (MGH) in Boston, will use GE’s Vivid i – an advanced, miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound system – to examine athletes’ hearts pre- and post-competition to learn more about the function and performance of highly conditioned hearts.
The study is a continuation for Woods of a study of the hearts of U.S. short track speedskaters for the Olympic Winter Games in Torino. The results from the study thus far have indicated that there are specific changes in heart function that correlate to different levels of training, Wood said.
In an effort to further confirm results from Torino, Wood said the current research program leading to Beijing will study athletes from traditionally recognized high-intensity sports– rowing and weightlifting and compare differences in heart function and energy use with endurance athletes as well as people from the general population.
“This study aims to evaluate elite athletes’ cardiac adaptation to high-intensity exercise and training by analyzing cardiac response during peak and off-peak training cycles,’’ said Wood. “Our work will hopefully grant the sports medicine community greater insight to the cardiac fitness levels of their athletes, and provide healthcare providers with insight to new, more effective ways of assessing and treating heart disease for the non-athlete.’’
GE’s Vivid i ultrasound system offers the functionality and high performance of larger-scale systems, but in a portable and wireless design. The system makes it possible for patients to receive full diagnostic exams anywhere, as opposed to being transported to an imaging lab in a hospital.
Research to focus on point-of-injury diagnosis
The second clinical study, led by Marnix T. van Holsbeeck, MD, Tony Bouffard, MD, and Scott A. Dulchavsky, MD, of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., will center on improving the overall musculoskeletal health of athletes on the field, using GE’s Logiq i, a lightweight, portable ultrasound system for real-time diagnosis.
Researchers will focus their attention on the hip, shoulder, ankle and knee regions to investigate whether taking healthy baseline scans of the athletes helps in determining the extent of future sports injuries with greater speed and accuracy. For the Beijing Olympic Games, the investigators said they want to assess whether changes in ligaments, cartilage and muscle that are seen before the Olympic Games may have an effect on the athletes’ performances during the games.
The Logiq i ultrasound can highlight problems with structure and with mobility of tissues that no other examination technique can show. Designed for a modern, all-digital healthcare environment, Logiq i allows clinicians to share information for consultation and to archive results electronically, GE said.
“In the Olympic Games, every second counts. Having a tool that can accurately and immediately determine the severity of an injury gives the sports physician the ability to determine if the athlete can continue to compete in time critical situations. It also can be used to guide training and rehabilitation after injuries,” Dulchavsky said.
Both clinical studies are currently underway with initial results expected around the start of the Beijing Games. GE said it expects to conduct similar athlete research programs in other countries as well.
The first program is a cardiac clinical research study with top U.S. Olympic athletes and hopefuls on the U.S. Men’s Rowing and USA Weightlifting teams while the second initiative will monitor the musculoskeletal health of athletes competing for USA Weightlifting, USA Boxing, USA Wrestling and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team, according to GE.
The two studies are continuations from research programs at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
“Every day an Olympic athlete spends in rehab is a day lost in training, making earlier injury diagnosis and real-time recovery monitoring crucial for elite performance,’’ said Michael Reed, MD, U.S. Olympic Committee medical director, performance services division. “It is increasingly important that as a National Olympic Committee, we have the most innovative tools to help predict, diagnose, treat and monitor sports injuries earlier to ensure a quick return to play.’’
Cardiac research program set to build off results from Torino
A clinical study of USA Weightlifting and U.S. Men’s Rowing, led by Malissa Wood, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center (MGH) in Boston, will use GE’s Vivid i – an advanced, miniaturized cardiovascular ultrasound system – to examine athletes’ hearts pre- and post-competition to learn more about the function and performance of highly conditioned hearts.
The study is a continuation for Woods of a study of the hearts of U.S. short track speedskaters for the Olympic Winter Games in Torino. The results from the study thus far have indicated that there are specific changes in heart function that correlate to different levels of training, Wood said.
In an effort to further confirm results from Torino, Wood said the current research program leading to Beijing will study athletes from traditionally recognized high-intensity sports– rowing and weightlifting and compare differences in heart function and energy use with endurance athletes as well as people from the general population.
“This study aims to evaluate elite athletes’ cardiac adaptation to high-intensity exercise and training by analyzing cardiac response during peak and off-peak training cycles,’’ said Wood. “Our work will hopefully grant the sports medicine community greater insight to the cardiac fitness levels of their athletes, and provide healthcare providers with insight to new, more effective ways of assessing and treating heart disease for the non-athlete.’’
GE’s Vivid i ultrasound system offers the functionality and high performance of larger-scale systems, but in a portable and wireless design. The system makes it possible for patients to receive full diagnostic exams anywhere, as opposed to being transported to an imaging lab in a hospital.
Research to focus on point-of-injury diagnosis
The second clinical study, led by Marnix T. van Holsbeeck, MD, Tony Bouffard, MD, and Scott A. Dulchavsky, MD, of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich., will center on improving the overall musculoskeletal health of athletes on the field, using GE’s Logiq i, a lightweight, portable ultrasound system for real-time diagnosis.
Researchers will focus their attention on the hip, shoulder, ankle and knee regions to investigate whether taking healthy baseline scans of the athletes helps in determining the extent of future sports injuries with greater speed and accuracy. For the Beijing Olympic Games, the investigators said they want to assess whether changes in ligaments, cartilage and muscle that are seen before the Olympic Games may have an effect on the athletes’ performances during the games.
The Logiq i ultrasound can highlight problems with structure and with mobility of tissues that no other examination technique can show. Designed for a modern, all-digital healthcare environment, Logiq i allows clinicians to share information for consultation and to archive results electronically, GE said.
“In the Olympic Games, every second counts. Having a tool that can accurately and immediately determine the severity of an injury gives the sports physician the ability to determine if the athlete can continue to compete in time critical situations. It also can be used to guide training and rehabilitation after injuries,” Dulchavsky said.
Both clinical studies are currently underway with initial results expected around the start of the Beijing Games. GE said it expects to conduct similar athlete research programs in other countries as well.