Cogwear, a brain technology company based in Philadelphia, will make history this week during the annual Broad Street Run. James Chappell, a local runner and Cogwear employee, will be the first person in the world to measure his brain waves with clinical-grade accuracy during a live sporting event.
APRIL 28, 2023 – PHILADELPHIA, PA – Cogwear, a brain technology company based in Philadelphia, will make history this week during the annual Broad Street Run. James Chappell, a local runner and Cogwear employee, will be the first person in the world to measure his brain waves with clinical-grade accuracy during a live sporting event.
Fitted with a wearable device that looks and feels like a regular athletic headband, James will run 10 miles while the device records his brain's electrical activity so that a team of scientists can analyze levels of fatigue, focus, and other mental states that affect athletic performance.
In the weeks following the event, the scientists will interpret the data from James’ historic run, revealing for the first time, exactly what happens in a runner’s brain and how that relates to endurance and performance. For example, the team expects to pick up signals of fatigue well before James' pace slows down. They also expect to see bursts of focus as he rehydrates or eats energy gel along the way. They will attempt to correlate brain signals indicating fatigue versus focus with split times for each mile in the race. Understanding the brain’s activity during long-distance running and other sports events may help athletes better prepare and even gain a competitive advantage.
“I believe Cogwear’s headband will deliver interesting insights into how a runner experiences an important race. I’m also hoping to see positive emotion signals after the race with the rush of endorphins – but we will have to wait and see how it goes,” said James, who is hoping for a personal best of under one hour.
James, a former Division 1 track athlete at Lehigh University, studied mechanical engineering and now works as the engineering manager at Cogwear. He is part of the team that is responsible for scaling the production of the headbands, which are commercially available today for select research and business applications.
His technology demonstration during the Broad Street Run will showcase Cogwear’s potential for future applications, including athletics. The company is also developing the technology for health-related uses. Pending clearance by the Federal Drug Administration, Cogwear expects to partner with major healthcare companies to market the headband for screening for Alzheimer’s disease, anxiety and depression, and sports-related brain injuries.
To learn more about Cogwear, visit cogweartech.com.
About Cogwear
Cogwear is a brain technology company that improves health, peace and performance through its comfortable, wearable technology for better brain insights. The Philadelphia-based start-up has developed a platform solution that gives people on-demand access to their own clinical-grade cognitive and emotional data in real time in virtually any setting. Pioneered in collaboration with neuroscience experts from the University of Pennsylvania and supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, Cogwear’s proprietary dry electroencephalography (EEG) sensors comfortably and accurately measure, interpret and report electrical brain activity through a secure app and shareable dashboard. Cogwear creates value for society by supporting brain health, boosting elite performance, and driving better decisions. Visit cogweartech.com to learn more.
Media contact: press@cogweartech.com
