‘Makes a call in five milliseconds’: The AI tech revolution that could help solve sport’s ACL crisis

A London-based start-up claims it can prevent up to 80 percent of ACL injuries with its AI programmed knee brace, in what could be the holy grail in ending the injury crisis which plagues women’s sport.

Using a pair of sensors placed at the top and bottom of the brace Artificial Intelligence detects when the joint is approaching breaking point and deploys an airbag which stops the motion of the knee.

Co-creators of Hippos Exoskeleton Kylin Shaw and Bhavy Metakar claim the airbag is deployed in less than 25 milliseconds, faster than the 60 milliseconds it takes a ligament to rupture.

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“When the AI detects an awkward movement it uses five milliseconds to make a decision if that movement is going to cause you a ACL or MCL tear,” Shaw said.

“If the answer is yes than the microchip embedded in the brace will inflate the airbag and tighten around the knee, providing you with a buffer zone and support.

“Then the airbag deflates, and you can go back onto the court and continue to play. It is completely reusable.”

The anterior cruciate ligament crosses the front of the knee and aids the posterior cruciate ligament – which crosses the back – with controlling forward and backward movement.

An ACL tear is one of the most common knee injuries and can be caused by sharp changes in direction, stopping suddenly, and landing incorrectly, resulting in months of rehabilitation and in some cases surgery.

Shaw knows the impact of an ACL injury more than most, having suffered a tear at 17-years-old which derailed his own basketball career.

“My dream was to be the next Jeremy Lin,” he said.

“I was preparing to go to the US to peruse basketball when I partially tore my ACL and ruptured my ankle ligament.

“The most painful moment for me was when I came back after nine months and realised I couldn’t catch up to the people I used to compete with.”

Female athletes are eight times more likely to experience an ACL rupture than their male counter parts.

In the AFLW alone there are 33 players across all 18 clubs recovering from knee injuries at the time of publishing, 24 are ACL injuries.

University of South Australia Allied Health and Human Performance Executive Dean Jon Buckley says there a number of reasons female athletes suffer from ACL injuries more than men.

“It is in part due to the mechanics of the lower body,” he said.

“The hip angles are different between males and female which can create increased loading on the knee.

“There is also an increasing body of work that suggests that hormones during the menstrual cycle could have an effect.”

Buckley says this technology would work in theory but is interested to see it work in practice.

“If it can stop the displacement of the bones in the knee by pushing back to hold the knee in a better position, in theory it could reduce the loading on the ACL and the risk of it tearing,” he said.

“But you must wonder if the athlete is wearing this throughout the whole game, will it impact normal movement.

“The last thing you want to see is the airbag deploying when a player is lining up for goal.”

Shaw countered that the chances of accidental discharges are very slim, he claimed only six malfunctions occurred across more than 4,000 tests conducted with professional athletes.

“When you take the knee brace it take about three minutes before it is ready to use,” he said.

“We ask you to do a series of exercises, a squat, test of flexibility. Then the brace is ready to go.

“The AI learns your range of movement based on thousands of movements made by your own knee.

“And it is only movements outside of that range which would cause alarm.”

The groundbreaking technology has generated curiosity across the sporting sector, with Premier League club Crystal Palace trailing a prototype within their academy in recent months.

Shaw claims he has already received a large pre-order from the Chinese Olympic Association.

Hippos Exoskeleton is in the process of moving operations to San Francisco to begin long term testing and plans are already in place to expand to Australia by the end of 2025.

It comes as criticism is mounting on the AFLW’s condensed fixture, which sees each team play 11 games across 10 weeks.

Buckley said “fatigue could contribute to injury risk”.

“Fatigued muscles don’t respond how you would like them to, then if the body gets into awkward positions it can be predisposed to injury,” he said.

AFL football boss Laura Kane has defended the “interesting” compressed fixture.

“I have personally loved watching football every single night,” she said.

“I’ve loved the Tuesday night games, tuning in on the couch or going out if the games are local to me. We’re really pleased with the game, and we know that there is so much growth ahead of us.”