MEDICA 2020 – Trend Report No. 2

8TH MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE TO COVER WIDE RANGE OF TOPICS

“Doc, we have a problem” - medicine in space, artificial intelligence and digital twins for sports medicine of tomorrow

 

The exhibits at MEDICA 2020, the world’s leading medical trade fair (November 16 – 19, 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany), will again be complemented by a wide ranging ancillary program, including the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE (November 18 and 19 which will address “Future concepts in sports medicine - space medicine, performance and AI”.

 

Prof. Volker Damann will start the conference by describing the challenges of training for the stay in space. He teaches “Human Performance in Space” at the International Space University in Strasbourg. As team doctor, he has supported numerous Soyuz and space shuttle missions. Space pilots are, generally speaking, incredibly fit people. However, going into space and remaining there for a period of time still means that they face a range of health challenges which they would normally only experience on earth if they had chronic conditions or as accompanying symptoms of old age. These include nausea, dizziness, breaking out in sweats, bone loss, muscle atrophy and cardiac issues. Space training counteracts this and many findings from this can be transferred to performance and regeneration for sports on earth as Prof. Damann will explain in detail in at the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE.

 

Using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve performance and regeneration, for example in ice hockey, will also be an important topic. Karl Schwarzenbrunner uses AI to analyze ice hockey games. He is head of the Training and Science Department at the German Ice Hockey Association and has implemented a system that links player data recorded by wearables with the data from an autonomous camera system and evaluates it in real time. To achieve this, the system must recognize players from both the team it is being used for and their opponents. The puck and a few parameters, for example those for a line rush, also need to be defined and recorded. In addition, surveys are used to record subjective performance capacity and regeneration. The data are used to run active regeneration management, prevent injuries and  improve performance. The GET App (GET = Concussion test) can already be used in leisure sports. This app supports athletes, trainers, teachers, physiotherapists and parents by enabling them to detect concussion early in sports by applying easy-to-use tests. The likelihood of a concussion can be determined within a few minutes. This is also used to make a decision whether the athlete can return to play or should be removed from the game.

 

Digital twins are also part of the future of competitive sports. Prof. Björn Eskofier of the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg is an expert in the pattern matching and data analysis sector. He will demonstrate how and where digital twins can be used in sports, both today and in the future. Artificial intelligence is also applied in diagnostic systems by Prof. Dr. Roger Abächerli of the Lucerne University of Applied Arts and Sciences. He will discuss how he uses AI in evaluating cardiological data in his conference session.

 

Cognitive training as a contributor to success

 

The mental component of winning will be highlighted by Dr. Lutz Graumann. He will explore the question of how the future of medicine can benefit from lessons from Formula One racing and will describe the importance of cognitive training for success. Because one thing is clear: victory requires more than just physical fitness. This is especially true for team sports – including rowing (especially in eights). Germany has always been very successful in this sport. Florian Mennigen, a former professional athlete, contributed much to the German victories in this sport as a multiple world champion and Olympic winner in the eight. He works as a clinical psychologist and will participate in the MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE on November 18 as a speaker where he will discuss how winning teams are built.

 

Tailoring training programs to the individual

 

On November 19, Dr. med Theodora Papadopoulou (from the UK) will explain the significance of the biopsychosocial model in sports medicine as part of the third conference session on tailoring training programs to the individual. The Secretary General of the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations (EFSMA) has further developed this holistic system approach for sports medicine. Because in elite sports, health, injury and illness are still viewed primarily from a biomedical or physiological perspective. At the same time, there is a "culture of risk", according to which health must be protected and risked at the same time in order to achieve top performance. In order to be able to deal with this, however, not only biomedical but also psychological fitness and social factors should be integrated into diagnostics and therapy. Papadopoulou will explain how she implements this simultaneous diagnostic and therapy method in sports medicine.

 

The holistic view also includes a look at nutrition. Dr. Silvia Kolossa from Loewi will present  case studies for special needs and the individualization of nutrition in the context of competitive sports. Private lecturer Dr. Peter Brücker, team physician of the German ski team and Dr. med. Ralf Doyscher, team physician of soccer team Borussia Mönchengladbach, as well as Prof. Dr. Borja Muniz from the University of Zaragoza will examine individualized injection therapy and the use of blood flow restriction training in rehabilitation.

 

Dr. Katharina Schöttl from the German Institute for Health and Sports (DHGS) in Munich is researching how digital technology is used by athletes, trainers and team doctors and will introduce the results of her study at the  MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE. Prof. Dr. Ing. Stephan Odenwald (Chemnitz University of Technology) uses such technologies to analyze athletes’ movement sequences, for example in speed skating, and to improve regeneration and prevention of injuries. He uses sensors to determine the impact when a skater’s blade hits the ice, for example. Movement sequences can thus be documented directly during training and improved to aid prevention.

 

New approaches in diagnostics and wearable technology

 

Evidence-based diagnostics and wearable technology are on the conference program for session 4, to be held on November 19 in the afternoon. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Scharhag, Head of the Institute for Sports Medicine at the University of Vienna, will start this session with an overview of the current sports cardiology landscape. Private lecturer Dr. Christian Werner (Bad Homburg) will then present how physical activity affects cell ageing.

 

International sports physicians have been developing a global standard for wearables in sports and fitness for around two years, working on behalf of European sports medicine associations. Prof. Dr. Yannis Pitsiladis from the University of Brighton and head of the Sub2Hrs marathon project will show who this seal of approval is relevant for and what is measured.

 

The length of time a person spends asleep and the quality of their sleep is measured by many wearables. Both of these parameters affect performance and regeneration. Prof. Jürgen Götze of TU Dortmund University will present the latest research in sleep diagnostics and new approaches that enable more insight into and improved understanding of complex topic of sleep.

 

Digital biomarkers, recognizable data patterns from various sources from which diagnostic or prognostic benefits can be derived, are becoming increasingly important for evidence-based diagnostics. Sweat could become a source for the next generation of digital biomarkers, as Dr. Noé Karl Brasier, University Hospital Basel, will explain in his conference presentation.

 

The list of renowned partners of the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE includes the International Federation of Sports Medicine (FIMS), the German Association for Sports Medicine and Prevention (DGSP), the German Society of Sport Science (DVS), the German Federal Institute for Sports Science (WISS), the European Federation of Sports Medicine Associations (EFSMA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (Exercise is Medicine initiative) as well as companies such as Sport Speaker, Orthogen, movX, movisens, DORNER Health IT Solutions, ledsreact, Loewi and WT Wearable Technologies.

 

   For more information about the 8th MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE:  https://www.medica-tradefair.com/mmsc1

 

Author: Dr Lutz Retzlaff, freelance medical journalist (Neuss, Germany)

 

   For further information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA 2020, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago