14 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN FERGUSON WATKINS ’18 Senior Software Engineer at WHOOP Watkins, who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and integrated business engineering, has worked at the wearable tech company for nearly two years developing generative AI applications. Learn more about Lehigh alumni and students involved in the development of wearable devices. SARAH WOLFE ’10 Director of Product Management, Wearable Technology, at Essilor- Luxottica The parent company of brands such as Ray-Ban, Oakley and Oliver Peoples, EssilorLuxottica is blending eyewear with technology. Their Smart Eyewear Lab employs researchers and scientists who are developing a new generation of smart eyewear. JORDAN LICKSTEIN ’25 Intern at Israeli startup LittleOne.Care This company is the maker of Elora, a wearable device that monitors a pregnant woman’s sleep, nutrition, activities and mood. When the baby is born, it tracks the child’s development and safety by providing alerts if the child is shaken or falls. Anthony Cino ’24G, a master’s student studying bioengineering, is developing a wearable device for patients with dysphagia. There are many factors that contribute to whether an athlete is injured, from how stressed they are, both physically and mentally, to the strength, or lack of strength, in certain muscle groups, he said. “At Lehigh University, they are student-athletes, so we know that the academic component significantly impacts their onfield performance, and their on-field performance affects their academics,” Amitrano said. “There’s that synergistic pathway between the two. We are trying to understand, holistically, what is going to allow them to perform at the highest level.” Wearable Tech at Lehigh The terms of Seshadri’s study protect the identity of the students participating, but Cahill and other Lehigh coaches are proponents of wearable tech. The coaches say it has created friendly competition among teammates who like to compare stats, it’s improved performance, and most importantly, it’s helping to prevent injury and guide rehabilitation. “How quickly can we get guys back from injury? How long until they are back up to full speed? You’re not guessing, it’s data-based and numbers-based, and the more we can use this information, the smarter decisions we can make and the healthier decisions we can make,” Cahill said. Seshadri said his team is conducting one of the few studies looking at muscle-oxygen saturation as a biomarker, or guide, to rehabilitating athletes following ACL reconstruction. Seshadri is also co-leading a similar study with the NFL’s from the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine. “If we start to collect more data, we can then help forecast and assess if the athlete is on track in their healing at various time points,” Seshadri said. “What testing should be done at various time points to ensure athletes are returning at their highest level and doing what they love to do on a daily basis?” Cahill said that before wearable tech was widely available, coaches determined how to practice by viewing athletes on the field and taking an educated guess about what condition LEHIGH ALUMNI AND STUDENTS IN WEARABLE TECH JESSICA GARCIA ’12 ’13G CEO and Founder of Tozuda The company manufactures impact indicators that show whether a helmet has been damaged in a fall. If the fall is significant enough, the indicator changes color, letting the wearer know to replace their helmet.
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