 Photo credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE Another former NFL player is making the news for announcing his commitment to donating his brain to science after his death. It is easy to applaud Warren Sapp for his unselfish support of medical research. The same “feel-good” recognition can also be expressed for the numerous other professional athletes who have already pledged to this as well. More brains to objectively examine clearly adds to the science; and the resulting insights could reveal more than we currently know on the long-term and sometimes permanent neuropathological effects from years of head impact exposure. Sapp, like others, is likely largely motivated from what he has witnessed in his NFL colleagues, as well as his own concerns regarding memory and other symptoms that might be related to initial onset of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). But the key is to get better insight in the living – not just in postmortem donated brain tissue. Emerging technology – imaging, biomarkers, and advanced analytics – can give us new insight regarding the initiation and early progression of brain pathology, BEFORE measurable impairment of brain function and other expressed symptoms of neurological disease. This could also lead to potential therapeutic solutions. Warren Sapp’s commitment is appreciated; but, we can learn a lot from his living brain (and those from numerous others) by using a variety of non- or minimally invasive technology and diagnostics now – not just in 30 or more years! Author: Dr. Michael Bergeron, Senior Vice President of Development & Applications
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 Sharing thoughts on the future of innovation and technology, Magic Leap founder and CEO Roni Abovitz, along with dean of the University of Miami's College of Engineering Jean-Pierre Bardet, and Knight Foundation Miami program director, Matt Haggman  SIVOTEC's Pete Martinez and Luis Pintado connect with Dr. Babek Kateb, neuroscientist and chairman of the board for SBMT SIVOTEC Analytics’ CEO Pete Martinez and COO Luis Pintado attended this week’s eMerge Americas 2017 event in Miami, Florida where the ideas flew freely and innovation ruled thanks to the attendance of top thought leaders in technology, science, business and entrepreneurship from across the globe. Leading speakers included Steve Wozniak (Apple), Uri Levine (Waze), Marcelo Claure (Sprint), Gustavo and Adriana Cisneros (Cisneros Group), Dave McClure (500 Startups), Shiza Shahid (Malala Foundation), and Alex Rodriguez (ARod Corp).
“It was incredible for the SIVOTEC team to have so many interactions and such in-depth and meaningful dialog with market movers and shakers, such as Dr. Babak Kateb, neuroscientist and chairman of the board for the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT),” said Pintado. Dr. Kateb’s research has been focused on the introduction of advanced diagnostics and therapeutics into clinical neuroscience in order to rapidly identify and introduce game-changing technologies to treat neurological disorders such as brain cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other brain and spinal disorders. Pintado continued, “This is where science is taking us and SIVOTEC Analytics is leading the way!” For more information on this event you can visit eMerge Americas and to read more about SBMT, please visit the World Brain Mapping website.
Perspectives from an Industry Leading Conference SIVOTEC President & CEO Pete Martinez and Senior VP Dr. Michael Bergeron just returned from the 2017 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This annual event brings together the leading world experts – both clinicians and research scientists – and numerous young professionals and students for a robust and diverse interdisciplinary program on sports medicine, exercise and other physical activity, and health.
“It is readily evident from the array of terrific presentations at the ACSM Annual Meeting that the interrelated complexities of those factors that influence health and performance – whether Olympic, Paralympic, or recreational athletes – require a multi-domain, advanced analytics, systems biology approach. It is also evident that the exponential development and accessibility of new technology – from wearables to advanced tracking and imaging – and the rapid availability of massive amounts of information can be overwhelming and a barrier to effectively managing and interpreting the data, for those without an advanced big data capacity” said Dr. Bergeron. The ACSM Annual Meeting was held May 30, 2017 - June 3, 2017 and is recognized as the most comprehensive sports medicine and exercise science meeting in the world. With more than 50,000 members and certified professionals in its ranks, ACSM represents more than 70,000 occupations in sports medicine and exercise science.  SIVOTEC President & CEO Pete Martinez, discussed the utilization of big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for the improvement of the human condition during a presentation at the annual meeting of the Federal Laboratories Consortium in San Antonio, Texas. Most notably, Martinez highlighted some of the breakthrough research SIVOTEC is conducting in the areas of concussion and brain trauma.
The FLC meeting brings together a most impressive union of top technology transfer executives from the country's top research institutions. Martinez remarked, "I was energized to recognize the immense synergy in this room of cutting-edge thinkers. This assembly provides the opportunity for unprecedented collaboration as well as establishing channels for the effective commercialization of innovation, all of which is geared toward understanding how data can drive us to understand the optimum performance of individuals in ways yet to be understood or discovered. The connections and collaborations established will undoubtedly facilitate the next phase of development and knowledge."
Pete Martinez, President & CEO of SIVOTEC and parent-company, Game Changer Tec, served as a panelist at the 2017 UM Sport Industry Conference to discuss how technology will change the game for athletes. Martinez, also a University of Miami alum, shared the dais with Rich Fernando of the Miami Heat, Jason DuBois of DBC Fitness, Chris Caputo of UM Men's Basketball, and Brendan Reilly of Eon Sports.  Photo Credit: Larry Haygood Jr., St. Thomas University Martinez noted that the intersection of sport and health for athletes is best handled by leveraging technology to understand how athletes can achieve optimum performance. He remarked, "Forums such as these are critical to moving forward the pace of innovation. We were thrilled to be a part of today's dialogue and to share our many contributions already in this space." Dr. Bergeron, Senior Vice President of Development & Applications of SIVOTEC Analytics, chaired a symposium and presented at The IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in Sport in Monaco, 16-18 March 2017.
This premier triennial international conference boasts a diverse faculty representing the pre-eminent international authorities in injury and illness prevention, athletic performance, and health in sport. It continues to provide a unique opportunity for the global sport and exercise medicine community to meet face-to-face to share best practices and new directions. “A predominant emphasis of this IOC Conference underscored the consequences of overload, overuse, head impact, and other challenges that affect athletes and contribute to the ongoing prevalence of injury and detrimental effects on health. It was evident that the current gaps and future direction in Sport uniquely parallel SIVOTEC’s multi-domain, complex systems biology approach to evaluating and assessing injury risk and promoting healthy, sustainable athlete development. The conversation among these renowned leaders strongly reinforced SIVOTEC’s commitment to the rapidly emerging advances and utility of artificial intelligence-based computational learning systems via big data. No question that SIVOTEC will distinctively provide new insights to complex human systems through real-world, multi-domain predictive modeling.”  Dr. Bergeron with Dr. Shane Miller and Dr. Holly Benjamin at the Youth Sports Safety Summit Dr. Bergeron, Senior Vice President of Development & Applications in the Center for Advanced Analytics in Sport & Health of SIVOTEC Analytics, was a presenter at the Youth Sports Safety Summit, held March 7, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
This summit was hosted by the Youth Sports Safety Alliance (YSSA) and the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) to educate key stakeholders about current issues in youth sports safety and effective measures to keep young athletes safe. “It was a terrific gathering of youth sports safety leaders from across the country meeting at the beautiful NCAA Headquarters and sharing new information and emphasizing best practices. While it is critical to hold and promote the messaging from such meetings, the real work that will tangibly ensure a safe and healthy environment in youth sport and provide sustainable opportunities for a wide definition of sport success must come from those who work with our kids every day – parents, coaches, administrators, health care providers, and the sport governing bodies.” Dr. Bergeron will be presenting next at the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury and Illness in Sport to be held March 16-18, 2017 in Monaco. Dr. Michael Bergeron, SIVOTEC Senior Vice President of Development and Applications discusses the highlights of his keynote speech at the Injury Prevention Conference held in Vail, Colorado on January 29, 2017. |
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