IIT Madras Develops An AI-based Ultrasound Scanner for Sports Injuries

Students of IIT Madras, who belong to Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, developed a device based on AI that is capable of assessing sports injuries. Point-of-care ultrasound is a breakthrough innovation in sports research and management. Players have diverse options when it comes to sports Injury but they lack in the technologies and devices that can assess the injury of the sportsperson.

Professor Arun K Thittai commented on the technology which he developed “We observed a current technological gap and a need for a Point-of-Care device for injury Management and Rehabilitation of elite athletes within routine training premises. A quick assessment for musculoskeletal on the field will help sports players get immediate attention and focus on recovery.”

Center of Excellence in Sports Science and Analytics gave a nod to the IIT Madras in using the device on-field which will allow the medical practitioners to understand the extent to which the injury has happened and take necessary actions and decisions based on the injury and whether the player will be allowed to play future matches or not.

“This solution aims to bring the latest development in ultrasound technology to sports medicine beyond the hospital setting. The inputs from the POCUS assessment will be taken into the bigger AI platform for a holistic athlete management system. We are currently exploring all options to take up POCUS for MSK imaging for commercial translation," claimed Professor Arun.

A press release claimed that the project is being worked on and the prototype will be ready by the end of 2024. However, real-time practicality and functionality will be tested on pilot players from various sports segments. IIT is also in a talk with various authorities in bringing more subjects for testing.