CUHK
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) announced today (20 February) the establishment of its spin-off company, the Global Sports and Wellness Innovation Centre (GSWIC), which is co-founded by the CUHK Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics, Health View Bioanalytic Limited (HVB) and AquaBloom International Sports Technology Group (ABSG). GSWIC has also formed a close collaboration with Funeng Intelligent Manufacturing (Beijing) Technology Service Co., Ltd (Funeng) and Innovax Holdings Limited (Innovax). Its mission is to revolutionise the sports industry and promote overall health and well-being through collaborations between research, academic and industry sectors.

ARIA technology development in the sports industry

The AI-based Automatic Retinal Image Analysis (ARIA) technology developed by CUHK was mainly used in the past to assess disease risks such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, depression, and cognitive impairment. GSWIC will leverage the advancements of ARIA methods and transform them into sports technology.

The CUHK Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics and HVB are responsible for providing patents and conducting technical research and development. Alongside this, ABSG leverages its unique global SportsTech industry platform and ecosystem to deeply empower GSWIC’s independently developed products and service system in the industrialisation, marketisation, and globalisation of this professional field.

In the process of productisation, Funeng will provide GSWIC with comprehensive research, development and manufacturing services, including producing instruments for capturing retinal images, accelerating the transformation of technology into products. In addition, Innovax will provide capital market financing services to ensure that GSWIC has abundant funds and resources to support its project development.

ARIA technology can be applied to sports technology to identify sports-specific characteristics and select sports talents in amateur and professional athletes via machine learning analysis. Retinal imaging will estimate cognitive function, attention, strength, speed, agility, reaction time, balance, and body composition coordination. These areas are combined to predict athletic and competitive performance in different types of sports. Moreover, it can also be used for early detection of minor injuries caused by concussion in contact sports including American football, rugby, boxing, Muay Thai and mixed martial arts. GSWIC will also use ARIA technology to monitor rehabilitation to develop early intervention and rehabilitation strategies.

Professor Benny Zee, Director of CUHK Centre for Clinical Research and Biostatistics, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, CUHK, believes that this successful collaboration between academia, industry, and research can facilitate the development of more sports technology-related products. This will contribute to identifying elite athletes and unleashing their full potential, bringing multiple advantages to the sports industry in Hong Kong. The development of sports not only creates employment and business opportunities in the sports industry but also benefits the overall health of the public.

Mr Mike Yang, Founder/CEO of ABSG, stated that ABSG will continue to leverage the global platform of ABSG and the unique advantages and resources of CUHK to keep innovating and creating excellent products and service systems for the sports industry. They hope to contribute innovative forces to the sports industry in Hong Kong, mainland China, Asia, and globally. Mr Yang also expressed gratitude to the global top-tier partners in capital, technology, market, and intelligent manufacturing who have been involved in GSWIC’s work. He looks forward to further collaboration with relevant partners in the industry chain, working together towards a common long-term vision.

Mr Carlos Law, Deputy General Manager of Funeng, emphasised that the company will provide GSWIC with product development engineering support and production services at every stage of the process, from research outcomes to commercialisation. Leveraging the extensive product development resources and customer network advantages of FIH Mobile Limited, Funeng aims to assist GSWIC in launching its technological products to the market and obtaining investments.

Mr Richard Chung, Chairman of Innovax, hopes that GSWIC can combine the ARIA technology developed by the CUHK research team with the global sports technology industry platform of ABSG to optimise athletes’ performance and identify sports talents. Mr Chung added that two of their OFC funds which have been registered with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission together with other investment funds and venture capital fund partners will continue to invest funds and resources to support this commercially promising project, bringing returns to shareholders.