PSV Eindhoven, one of the Netherlands’ premier soccer clubs, is no stranger to experimenting with new technologies.
They’ve taken part in athlete cognitive training and, in 2015, became the first team in the Netherlands to play under LED lighting. And now they’ll be able to diagnose injuries to their athletes as soon as they occur.
On Tuesday it was announced that the Eredivisie club will be the first in the world to use Philips’ portable ultrasound, called Lumify, to assess player injuries anywhere they happen.
The ultrasound works through a smartphone app and a handheld transducer, allowing physicians to connect the device to a tablet or phone and begin the scan. Typical ultrasounds require a longer holdover time for transportation to the hospital—or at least to the locker room—and consultation with physicians.
Athletes often require the highest degree of medical attention. American sports teams often have advanced training and medical facilities in the team clubhouses, and football games now include medical tents right on the sidelines. Lumify, which is available in North America and much of Europe, including the Netherlands and Belgium, is designed to help make injury diagnoses even faster.
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“Philips Lumify is an extremely beneficial tool, and particularly useful in an environment where immediate injury analysis is needed,” Wart van Zoest, PSV’s medical director, said in a statement. “We can now make diagnoses and decisions much faster, anywhere in a sports complex and even when we’re traveling to remote training locations with no hospital nearby. This enables us to offer better care to our players and address injuries as soon as they happen.”
Royal Philips has a long history with PSV Eindhoven, considering it was Philips employees who started the team in 1913, according to the announcement. Philips, though currently based in Amsterdam, is the namesake sponsor of PSV Eindhoven and has supported the team with technological advancements. PSV plays in Philips Stadium.
Lumify has uses in cardiology, abdominal, musculoskeletal, lung, and, of course, obstetrics and gynecology, according to the announcement.
“Philips’ app-based ultrasound delivers exceptional image quality through a compatible smart device,” Carmen Silverstandt, the ultrasound business manager at Philips Benelux, said in a statement. “This supports our vision of putting high-quality ultrasound in the hands of more professionals to serve more patients in more locations.”