IEEE Spectrum September, 2015 - 17

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track arm movements, and the device ever, the mThrow sleeve goes anywhere
wirelessly transmits the data to an app the player goes. "Before, the only option
that calculates stress caused by torque was a motion-capture assessment once
on the UCL. The app also tracks a num- or twice per year. Now they get a smaller,
ber of other metrics, such as pitch count, more compact version every throw they
arm speed, release point, elbow height at make," says Hansen.
T h e Te x a s R a n g e r s b o u g h t 1 0
release, maximum shoulder rotation, and
"arm slot"-an indication of whether the mThrows, keeping a couple and giving
throw was a side-arm pitch or over the top. one to each of its minor league teams.
The app can gauge the amount of Two of the organization's players being
stress on a player's elbow joint by com- tracked are recuperating from injury-an
paring the condition to similar cases in important use of the device, Reed says.
the company's database of pitcher work- "We are measuring their workloads so
loads. The app can also compare stress we don't stress them too much in their
levels created by, say, a fastball versus return to health," he says.
The Baltimore Orioles bought eight
a curveball, and it can indicate when a
pitcher's arm slot might be changing due sleeves, all for the club's farm teams,
to fatigue. But giving context for that- says Rick Peterson, a director of pitching
identifying the trends in workload that development for the team. "My guess is
lead to injury-is something the company it's going to be a long time before the big
is still working on. "It's early now, but league guys get into this, because they
we're seeing interesting things," says will not want to share this data," he says.
Ben Hansen, chief technology officer "Big league players are so protective of
at Motus. For example, the company their space. Their first question is: 'Can
is seeing a difference between players this be used against me?' "
That question is particularly pertinent
whose workloads increase and decrease
smoothly and players with consistently for amateurs competing for a position
high workloads or dramatic spikes and through the league's draft system and
for players who are looking to get a new
troughs, he says.
The mThrow offers much of the same contract. Biomechanics analysis could
biomechanics information that can be work in a player's favor if his mechangleaned from motion-capture technol- ics are good. But if the data show red
ogy, mapping movements using multiple flags that could lead to a major injury,
cameras that track markers placed on he won't be as desirable. Peterson says
the body. Unlike motion capture, how- he already uses video footage to look for

mechanics problems in potential draft
picks, and biometrics data from wearables would be a likely next step.
Reed agrees. "Once we're comfortable
with the Motus sleeve and the information
it's giving us, I could see us using it in predraft workouts where we could measure
stresses and mechanics on players before
they sign," he says. "Certainly [we'd use it]
after they sign to remold their mechanics."
It's a little harrowing to think that such
data could cost a player his career for
an injury that hasn't yet occurred-or
may never occur. "It's an obvious concern, especially for guys in my shoes-
minor league guys fighting for a chance
to play in the big leagues," says Dillon
McNamara, a pitcher for the Charleston
Riverdogs, a minor league team, who
has experimented with the Motus sleeve.
"The mThrow is pretty much looking
right into your elbow and seeing how
it feels as you're pitching. That's pretty
personal," he says. The players union,
the MLB Players Association, did not
provide comment to IEEE Spectrum.
The most usef u l applicat ion for
mThrow may turn out to be for kids, and
that's the market Motus plans to target.
"Many of us feel, myself included, that
some of the root causes of injuries at the
professional level start at the 12-, 13-, and
14-year-old level," says Peterson.
"Kids are playing on multiple teams
and playing year-round and trying to
impress scouts all the time, so there's
never a break for them from throwing,"
adds Bryan Bullington, a pitcher for the
Orix Buffaloes in Japan's Pacific League.
It's different as a professional, where players can have "a two- to four-month period
in the off-season where they don't even
pick up a ball," he says.
A wearable sensor like mThrow could
address that concern by giving parents
and coaches a cold, hard number indicating the stress on the child's arm and the
number of pitches. "It might give someone a more concrete feel for what the
arm is going through," says Bullington.
-emily wa ltz

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Spectrum September, 2015