Above: Dr. Paul Salouan, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, leads a discussion on the growing value of sports performance data during a panel discussion at the 2024 National Basketball Players Association Performance Summit.
advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse any non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. policy
Sports performance data is no longer just about biomechanics and results on the field. Today's data can integrate holistic factors that influence measurements, such as an athlete's nutrition, sleep, and mental health.
“We are beginning to mine, map, and understand the human body in more detailed ways than ever before,” said Sports Data, which specializes in collecting and analyzing human body data from body sensors and other sensing systems. said Mark Gorski, CEO of Labs. “We're collecting more data with more context from our athletes. Advanced sensors and systems provide real-time, in-game insights.”
And these insights may be valuable not only for winning at sporting events, but also for living healthier every day.
“There is currently an increased focus on elite athletes. They may be ideal candidates to help healthcare providers gain a deeper understanding of the human body and its functions,” Gorsky says.
Dr. Paul Salouan, a sports medicine orthopedic surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, agrees.
“At the Cleveland Clinic, we are interested in obtaining all the data we have access to in order to significantly improve the performance and recovery of elite athletes,” says Dr. Salouan. “At the same time, the unique insights gained from expert evaluation of this data can help advance care for the entire population. It has the potential to go a long way in improving the lives of millions of people.”
Dr. Salouan discussed this topic during a panel discussion moderated by Gorski at the 2024 National Basketball Players Association Performance Summit. The two-day event brought together professional athletes, sports organization leaders, sports technology experts and more to discuss the latest developments in technology and sports performance. Other speakers at the conference included representatives from NASA, Google, and ESPN, as well as current NBA players.
Below is an edited summary of Dr. Salouan's responses to some of the panel questions.
What emerging technologies do you see as most promising for the future of preventive medicine?
Dr. Salouan: AI presents great opportunities. In addition, Cleveland Clinic introduced the first-ever healthcare quantum computer through a partnership with IBM. This is not a supercomputer. It's beyond that. This will revolutionize the way data is used in healthcare when it comes to sports-related issues and other conditions.
For example, some professional sports are investing heavily in optical tracking technology combined with in-game sensors. However, examining millions of data points and drawing meaningful conclusions was not feasible. Quantum computing offers a real opportunity to take full advantage of these new data sources to provide information on everything from sport- or position-specific mechanics to play-calling and individual performance. Quantum computing allows us to do this in a fraction of the time instead of over several lifetimes.
What innovations and practices are currently being used in healthcare that have not yet been scaled up in sports?
Dr. Salouan: Genomics (the study of genomes), proteomics (the study of proteins), metabolomics (the study of metabolites) and other omics are trending in the medical field, but their full impact on sports performance remains unclear. I haven't seen it yet. Better data collection, advanced algorithms, AI, and quantum computing can help uncover new insights, including prompting us to ask questions we didn't even know to ask before. We are just beginning to see the possibilities.
Additionally, our focus in healthcare has shifted from treating disease to promoting health. During my surgical training in my 20s and 30s, I was taught to identify and treat disease. Wellness wasn't really emphasized in my training. Over the past 15 years or so, things have changed. I'm interested in how we can create wellness as a larger component of sports medicine and sports performance.
What are some of the obstacles that are preventing the introduction of further rapid innovation and advancements in sports performance?
Dr. Salouan: One of the hurdles is declining revenue for U.S. hospitals. How can we justify spending millions of dollars on performance-related research when our resources are prioritized in routine patient care? We are increasingly relying on three-party support and partnerships.
For example, Cleveland Clinic recently partnered with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Bedrock Real Estate to begin construction on the Cleveland Clinic Global Peak Performance Center, scheduled to open in 2027. The center is expected to be one of the most advanced training facilities in the United States. world.
This will benefit the Cleveland Cavaliers and other elite and professional athletes around the world, as well as those in our community, regardless of athletic ability. Club, college, and high school athletes. weekend warrior. Marathon Runners: All athletes at all levels in all sports come together for training and comprehensive care.
Another example is the recent partnership between Cleveland Clinic and Sports Data Labs. Together, we will work to create the largest compilation of sports health data for people visiting Global Peak Performance Centers using Sports Data Labs' advanced data collection and distribution technology. Our goal is to use data to find new ways to optimize human performance and minimize injuries for athletes and other individuals.
Cleveland Clinic opens the door to collaboration with third parties, allowing us to do more than ever before. The right partnerships, with the right vision and resource allocation, can help navigate the current healthcare environment.
How can we balance the unique needs of high performers with the health care requirements of ordinary individuals?
Dr. Salouan: That's what we hope to achieve through the Global Peak Performance Center. Yes, for the Cavaliers and other professional athletes, there's an elite athlete aspect, but there's also a community aspect where people in the area receive the same type of care from the same health care workers in the same building. We employ innovative technology, high-tech training equipment and solid research to extend the care we provide to elite athletes to school-age athletes and other everyday people.
The data we collect and evaluate applies to everyone, not only to optimize athletic performance, but also to improve overall human performance.
