Vancouver, BC (July 21, 2023) - Vancouver FC and NeuroCatch Inc., a leading neurotechnology company and a division of HealthTech Connex, announced today that they have entered a strategic partnership to enhance and optimize the mental performance and recovery for the team’s players. The NeuroCatch® Platform, a cutting-edge medical device used for the objective evaluation of cognitive function, will be utilized by the Vancouver FC performance and medical staff for ongoing monitoring of cognitive health relative to factors such as travel, post-match fatigue, training loads, nutrition, and hydration.
The partnership between HealthTech Connex and Vancouver FC represents a significant milestone in the field of mental performance in professional sports, and the first of its kind in professional soccer. By utilizing NeuroCatch®'s advanced neurophysiological measurement capabilities, Vancouver FC will have the advantage of leveraging a novel performance technology to keep their players’ mental performance in an optimal state and priming it before matches.
The NeuroCatch® Platform utilizes electroencephalography (EEG) to capture and analyze cognitive evoked potentials quickly and accurately at the point-of-care. This non-invasive technology enables the evaluation of cognitive processes such as attention, anticipation, and processing speed, providing valuable insights into an athlete's mental performance. With NeuroCatch®, Vancouver FC will be able to adjust performance training schedules and loads based on each individual player’s objective brain data.
Dr. Ryan D’Arcy, President and Chief Scientific Officer at HealthTech Connex, is excited to see the technology deployed with high-performing athletes in professional sports. “Vancouver FC and their staff are innovative in how they approach training, and we’re excited to partner with them to use objective cognitive analytics to help them make data-driven decisions." On what this means for mental performance being leveraged across the rest of the CPL, Dr. D’Arcy says, “We’re excited for Vancouver FC to represent the initial demonstration of NeuroCatch®'s capabilities and look forward to possible opportunities that may emerge across the wider CPL.”
Rob Friend, President of Vancouver FC and former Canadian Men’s National Team and LA Galaxy forward, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership. "The wellbeing of our athletes is of the utmost importance to everyone at Vancouver FC, whether it be physical, mental, or emotional. We are excited and proud to provide our players with an innovative way to improve their performance. It is also an opportunity for young professionals to tap into a new area of their performance that they may not have been able to develop before.”
The collaboration between HealthTech Connex and Vancouver FC will leverage the novel mental performance technology of NeuroCatch® and the influence of Vancouver FC to advance how mental performance is monitored and trained in professional sports.
For more information about NeuroCatch®, please visit www.neurocatch.com. To learn more about Vancouver FC and to purchase tickets to upcoming home matches, please visit www.vancouverfc.canpl.ca.
About Vancouver Football Club
Vancouver FC was founded in 2022 and kicked off its first Canadian Premier League season in 2023. Based in Langley, B.C., VFC is committed to being a professional team that commits more to its community than it takes out, in the pursuit of growing soccer in Canada.
About Canadian Premier League
The Canadian Premier League (CPL), Canada’s Tier 1 domestic men’s soccer league, is committed to its mission of providing opportunities for Canadian players to showcase their abilities on home soil and to gain prominence on the global soccer scene. A link between the amateur and professional games in the country, the CPL develops homegrown talent in support of the growth of Canadian soccer domestically and internationally. The CPL is proud to bring high-quality, professional soccer to communities from coast to coast, partnering with strong ownership groups, world-class corporate partners and passionate supporters to build a league Canadians can proudly support on and off the field. The CPL, which enters its milestone fifth season in 2023, plays in Concacaf and FIFA sanctioned competitions. For more updates and information, please visit CanPL.ca.
About HealthTech Connex
HealthTech Connex connects science and R&D to product breakthroughs utilizing state-of-the-art brain health technology. The team comprises recognized health, science, and business leaders with extensive experience in leveraging healthcare advances fueled by agile partnerships through its headquarters located in the Health and Technology District in Surrey, British Columbia. The company is focused on delivering translational neuroscience innovations to care sectors and communities worldwide. Its trademark product, the NeuroCatch® Platform, consists of EEG electrodes embedded in a mesh cap. It interfaces with a custom software platform to elicit desired brain responses within just six minutes.
About NeuroCatch Inc.
NeuroCatch Inc. is a neuro-health technology company focused on translating neuroscience research innovations into real-world medical devices and consumer products. It is located within the Health and Technology District in Surrey, British Columbia and is a wholly owned subsidiary of HealthTech Connex Inc. Its medical device, the NeuroCatch® Platform, conducts a rapid six-minute scan at the point of care to measure and report on cognitive brain function. The three different brain responses it measures, also known as event-related potentials (ERPs), are termed the ABCs of NeuroCatch® and are derived from the scientific framework of brain vital signs.
