Monitoring Elite Athletes: The Human Body Demystified Thanks to OSIsoft's PI System

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - June 20, 2011) - On June 9, OSIsoft, a leader in real time data acquisition systems, held its 11th PI Seminar, an event that is highly valued by organizations interested in learning more about real time data acquisition systems. Dr. Denis Boucher, PhD in experimental medicine, and François Ruel, engineer and president of the consulting firm Hulix specializing in process modeling, presented a pioneering technology using OSIsoft's PI data acquisition system, in front of a Montreal audience of 200 attendants. First introduced in March 2011 at the OSIsoft Users Conference in San Francisco, and presented for the first time in Canada in Montreal, this technology provides very precise analyses of a person's movements and physical reactions during a particular activity, in order to improve the approach used by professionals, whether they are working with top athletes or rehabilitation patients regaining their motor functions.

The PI System has been tested on hockey players (including a team from the NHL, the Philadelphia Flyers, and players of the Victoriaville Tigres), speed skaters on the Canadian team, and rehabilitation patients. The system integrates multiple bio-sensors, each of which reads the data related to one particular physiological component, such as heart rate in relation to a skater's speed, the fatigue he feels during acceleration, and the other physical reactions that result. The goal is to dissect the movement and its consequences in detail, in order to make the necessary improvements in training, or in the recovery or therapy process, for example.

"The enormous amount of data collected on human movement using the PI System enables us to zero in on the precise physical or physiological factor that needs to be focused on in rehabilitation or training," explained Dr. Boucher. "As a result, we're able to train people for less time, but more accurately and effectively."

Together, the biosensors generate millions of pieces of data for the PI System, at a rate of 125 samples per second. Used successfully for over thirty years, particularly in industrial applications, this system has helped many organizations around the world to optimize their production processes by providing a multitude of variables specific to these processes, in real time.

The PI System was integrated into Dr. Boucher's sampling procedure in the summer of 2010, more than ten years after he began his work on human physiology. "In the early years, only a small amount of data was collected, and it was analyzed using software that was part of the equipment used to collect information," said François Ruel. "Today, not only can we obtain large volumes of data in real time, but we also have the tools to do a rigorous analysis. With the PI System, we combine different sensors and different technologies as if they were part of a single system. The process is much faster: we have reduced the time it takes to analyze a hockey team from three weeks at the beginning to just an hour and a half."

"This is an innovative application that can help achieve some very important advances in many fields," said general manager of OSIsoft Canada Martin Jetté. "We are very proud to be associated with a team that works to improve the health and performance of human beings and reduce the risks they are subjected to in a wide range of situations. The social consciousness and the entrepreneurial spirit that continue to guide Dr. Boucher and Mr. Ruel in this project are the values ΓÇïΓÇïwe espouse OSIsoft. They are our inspiration for developing our solutions."

Continuing their partnership with OSIsoft, Boucher and Ruel will work in the coming years to adapt their technology to a variety of uses and make it accessible in all settings. To this end, they have developed a mobile system that allows professionals to collect data themselves and send it electronically to Dr. Boucher to be analyzed using the PI system. Ready within just one minute, the analyses are returned to them almost instantaneously. The Philadelphia Flyers will be testing this system in late June.

People in a variety of fields besides sports and health care are considering this technology. For example, the Marine Corps of the U.S. military is interested in analyzing the mental state of soldiers during combat simulations, particularly as the PI system meets the stringent security requirements of the United States armed forces. In Quebec, a multinational metals and mining company is thinking of using it to measure and monitor the effects of heat and magnetic fields on operators during industrial operations.

About OSIsoft

OSIsoft delivers the PI System, the industry standard in enterprise infrastructure, for management of real-time data and events. With installations in 107 countries spanning the globe, the OSIsoft PI System is used in manufacturing, energy, utilities, life sciences, data centers, critical facilities, and the chemical process industries. This global installed base relies upon the OSIsoft PI System to safeguard data and deliver enterprise-wide visibility into operational, manufacturing and business data. The PI System enables users to manage assets, mitigate risks, comply with regulations, improve processes, drive innovation, make business decisions in real time, and to identify competitive business and market opportunities. Founded in 1980, OSIsoft, LLC is headquartered in San Leandro, CA, with operations worldwide and is privately held. Learn more about OSIsoft and the PI System at www.osisoft.com.

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