The NBA is going to put a ring on it.
A vital component of the league’s 100-page restart plan — which was approved by the Players Association — focused on keeping players and staff of the 22 teams healthy within the bubble at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando. That includes safety protocols, social distancing, extensive required testing and wearable technology, the most peculiar of which is a lightweight, titanium “smart ring.”
All players and essential staff members will be given the option to wear a diagnostic ring designed by Finland-based tech company, Oura, that resembles a plain wedding band. The ring, which retails for between $299 to $399, contains sensors that track vital statistics like heart rate, respiration rate and body temperature. The data collected from the ring is fed into an algorithm that the venture capital-backed company boasts can predict the onset of coronavirus symptoms up to three days in advance with over 90-percent accuracy (study conducted by Oura Health in conjunction with West Virginia Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute).
The ring’s data will be analyzed by the University of Michigan to create an illness risk index. Participants will have access to their own data, which will not become visible unless that player or staff member’s illness probability score breaches a certain level. (NYPost)