The US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), 711th Human Performance Wing (HPW), and the Ohio State University have reached a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) for stress evaluation and recovery methods for warfighters.
The CRADA was signed to support personalised recovery of both uninjured athletes and warfighters who consistently train hard and are mission ready, the US Air Force (USAF) said in a statement.
Under the agreed terms, OSU operates and maintains the technology and receives daily sports science reports and analytics from AFRL researchers.
The 711th HPW will have access to immediate, continuous data to help develop personalised recovery procedures.
The information regarding real-time exertion, daily readiness and heart rate variability technology will be used to measure stress and recovery states and determine the future workloads and specific recovery modalities to help athletes and warfighters.
711th HPW signature tracking for optimised nutrition and training team lead Dr. Josh Hagen said:
“As a result of this agreement, the 711th HPW has access to all of the data collected and can directly transfer it into extremely useful analytics and reports for the coaches.
“In turn, we can learn and develop advanced sports science analytics and methodologies that are directly applied to the Department of Defense.
"That’s the goal of CRADAs: each side collaborates and brings something of value to the table.”
The OSU is currently involved in measuring the effectiveness of flotation therapy, a very advanced form of both physical and mental recovery.
Image: Craig Fada, an Ohio State University athlete, performs an OmegaWave heart rate variability and central nervous system test. Photo: courtesy of OSU.
