Adastral Park - British Science Week - Health & sports science

Day 5: Health & Sports Science

1 - Introduction

Meet Amelia and Alex, who will introduce you to the world of Health and Sports Science with experts from BT, University of Suffolk and Muhdo Health:

2 - 5G Connected Ambulance

Amelia (host): Meet Ruth who is going to take you on a journey in the 5G connected ambulance. Find out how technology can support a paramedic in the connected ambulance with remote guidance by a doctor back at the hospital.

Over to you Ruth....

Ruth

Core Network, Research Manager, BT

Key qualifications: BEng (Hons) Computer Systems Engineering, MSc Telecommunications, Cisco Certified Network Associate

What does your job involve? In my job I look at future mobile networks to understand what we need to know to make sure the mobile network provides the best experience for users, how it will support new services and also how we make it reliable.

How did you get into your current role? When I was 16 I did work experience at BT for two weeks, which was incredible and really focused my interests in the area of computing. Subsequently this helped me choose my A-levels and degree and also return for further summer placements before I joined BT as a graduate. After joining BT I had the opportunity to study for an MSc part-time/in my own time and met someone working on mobile technology. It sounded so interesting that I ended up joining the same team and have stayed working with networks and mobile ever since.

What did you want to be when you were younger? A doctor

What do you do outside work? I love sports: cycling, running, climbing and snowboarding with my husband and children. I also really enjoy watching films and have recently re-watched all the Marvel films again.

Ruth: Thanks for watching my video. Would you like to be a doctor using 5G remote diagnosis? We have had some questions submitted relating to this topic in the lead up to British Science Week which are answered below. However, if you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you. Please email computerscience@bt.com. We also held a live Q&A session on the day, a recording of which can be seen below...

Questions and answers

Question:
Could this technology be used to perform emergency operations?

Answer:
In the future, once 5G networks are fully rolled out across the country we might start to see the possibility of emergency operations occurring remotely. To allow this to happen we require: 1. Ultra-high reliability and security of the network to ensure no network outage during a procedure. 2. Ultra-low latency to allow movements and techniques that a surgeon is performing to be delivered to the remote operation in real-time i.e. zero delay

Question
Could you use this technology on 4G?

Answer:
Some of the techniques shown in the Connected Ambulance could be used in areas with good 4G coverage. However, 5G has faster connection speeds, quicker response times and improved reliability allowing all data to be transmitted and assessed in real-time and in particular the use of new techniques such as haptic touch communication in the paramedics glove to guide and aid remote examination.

Got a question? email computerscience@bt.com

3 - Have a Go Activities

Alex (host): Do you have good reaction times? Have you ever measured them? Are they really important? Shane is going to show you how you can design experiments to explore how you can measure reaction time and think about what things could make it better or worse. You can download the activity pack (link below the video) to get step by step instructions.

Download the activity pack

Alex (host): As a special for the last session of Virtual British Science Week, we've got an extra have-a-go video from Mudho Health, who are based at Adastral Park and are part of our Innovation Martlesham cluster of high-tech companies. James Brown from Muhdo will explain how to build the perfect athlete. He will explore the science of genetics and DNA and how it might affect an athlete's ability to perform at the highest level. You will get to look at the DNA genetics of athletes and the key impact they have and how we can all be an athlete!

James

Nutrigenetics Director, Muhdo

Key qualifications: Left Windsor Boys' school at 17 to play professional rugby for Harlequins. Represented England at u'16, u'18, u'21. BSc Sports Science, BSc Nutrition and Dietetics and BSc Nutrigenetics.

What does your job involve? My job provides me with a unique insight in how our diets, exercise, sleep, stress and environment affect how our genes function and our overall health and wellbeing.

How did you get into your current role? Having worked as a nutritionist for 15 years I moved into the world of genetics after 2 of my younger cousins passed away from cystic fibrosis in 2010. Then started Muhdo with a great group of guys in 2017.

What did you want to be when you were younger? Rugby player

What do you do outside work? Eat far too much cheese cake, ride my motorbike and watch a lot of movies

Download the activity pack

4 - Career profiles

Amelia (host): Health and sports science is such a wide area with many career opportunities to take your passion further. Take a look at the career profiles for some people from across BT and Adastral Park that are working in this space.

Claire

Research Professional - Graduate, BT

Key qualifications: General Engineering Degree (Oxford), Programming languages - Python, Matlab

What does your job involve? I work in the Core Network Research team, where I look at ways to automate processes to speed them up and save money. The best part about my job is that I get to work with lots of different people and try out new software - so I am constantly learning. I use python, matlab and many other skills.

How did you get into your current role? I studied General Engineering at Oxford University - and whilst I was there BT sponsored me through my degree. This led me to do an internship with BT - so I worked with them for one summer. After I graduated - last July, I started work with BT in my current role.

What did you want to be when you were younger? I wanted to be a Lawyer (barrister) when I was younger - because I used to love debating and have always been a very chatty person. I got into engineering because of my love of maths and problem solving.

What do you do outside work? I do a lot of sport - like rowing, running, tennis, squash etc! A fun fact about me is that I am a fully trained men's Lacrosse Referee.

Anvar

Wireless Research Manager / UKRI Future Leaders Fellow

Key qualifications: PhD Electrical Engineering

What does your job involve? I examine how the radios in mobile networks work, and design ones that work better. I was part of the team that launched 5G in the UK, and have played a part in defining the global 5G standard.

How did you get into your current role? I joined BT as a graduate, whilst still completing my study at Newcastle University.

What did you want to be when you were younger? I considered medicine, but I don't cope well with blood.

What do you do outside work? I came 463rd in a one-mile open-water swimming race.

See more career profiles...

5 - University of Suffolk

Alex (host): Meet Mark from the University of Suffolk who is going to show you how they are using technology to inform rehabilitation from injury in football. Find out how GPS can inform field-based rehabilitation from an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) injury in football. Follow the journey of an ex-professional footballer returning to play semi-professional football following an injury.

Over to you, Mark....

Mark

Lecturer in Strength and Conditioning, University Of Suffolk

Key qualifications: MSc, BSc, PGCE, ASCC

What does your job involve? Helping others achieve through my own experience of working in professional football.

How did you get into your current role? Professional experience working at Norwich City, Southampton, Arsenal, Huddersfield Town Football Clubs as well as for England.

What did you want to be when you were younger? A beach lifeguard. I did it every summer whilst at college and University. Not quite Baywatch though.

What do you do outside work? Exercise, DIY, spend time with family and friends and I once had a summer job as Captain Croc at Pontins.

Mark: Thanks for watching my video. What else could you monitor using GPS technology in sport? We have had some questions submitted relating to this topic in the lead up to British Science Week which are answered below. However, if you have any questions, we'd love to hear from you. Please email computerscience@bt.com.

Questions and answers

Question:
Does this apply to other sports like gymnastics or swimming?

Answer:
The principle of progressive overload (i.e. doing a little more each time) applies to all sports because this is a cornerstone of human adaptation (e.g. we do something new which the body finds hard, we then rest/recover and the body adapts so that if we have to do the same thing in the near future it is relatively easier – you have become fitter, faster or stronger). With regards to GPS there are some technologies which can be used in water but unfortunately the product we use has been designed for outdoor team sports (e.g. football, rugby). It could be used during gymnastics, but being inside would block any satellite signal, as such you would have to use the built-in accelerometer which would give an indication of the ‘load’ experienced by the gymnast. In the video Kieran was wearing accelerometers on each ankle (orange straps). These would be more suitable during gymnastics, something we did as part of his rehab (i.e. falling in a controlled environment).

Question:
What percentage improvement in my performance could using this technology give me?

Answer:
This is a very good question. By itself it won’t really improve your performance at all. You have to work hard to do that. What it will do though is give you feedback as to how hard you are working and how you could plan your activities to optimise your performance. This type of technology is what we call a ‘marginal gain’ (i.e. 1%). The key to any development is good planning, hard work and appropriate recovery (food and sleep). If you plan well the numbers will look after themselves. This is an elite tool to take your performance to the next level.

Got a question? email computerscience@bt.com

6 - Final thoughts from our hosts