News

Hexoskin Lands $2.4M Space Medicine Contract

Montreal, Canada – October 21, 2016 – The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) is awarding a new contract to Carré Technologies (Hexoskin) to continue advancing technology on Astroskin, an innovative bio-monitoring system for use aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The announcement will be made today at the company's headquarters in Montreal by the honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport of Canada and first Canadian in space, and Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques.

Consisting of a “smart shirt” and remote health monitoring software, Astroskin will collect valuable scientific data on astronauts’ vital signs, sleep quality and activity levels during their missions. CSA Astronaut David Saint-Jacques will test Astroskin during his six-month mission aboard the ISS in 2018-2019.

You can watch the press conference live on Facebook:

English : https://www.facebook.com/canadianspaceagency

Français : https://www.facebook.com/agencespatialecanadienne

Quotes

“Astroskin is a perfect example of how our government works with small, innovative, Canadian businesses on space technologies that lead to commercial versions for use by Canadians.”

The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

“Astroskin may have many applications on Earth, such as medical monitoring of those confined to their homes by illness, people living in remote areas with limited medical access, and those working in hazardous environments. It is another in a long list of space technologies brought down to Earth for all of us.”

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport 

“Our team is proud of the role we are playing to support human space travel. One day, thousands of space travelers bound for Mars will need simple reliable medical systems to ensure their health. Deploying our wearable sensors and software to the ISS is significant as this represents the ultimate remote patient monitoring scenario. The findings from tracking the health of astronauts will be used to make our healthcare system more accessible and support new home care and telemedicine services.”

Pierre-Alexandre Fournier, CEO and co-founder, Carré Technologies (Hexoskin)

About Hexoskin
Hexoskin is the world leader in smart clothing for health monitoring. Hexoskin smart shirts are used by space and defense agencies, sports scientists, and thousands of health professionals and health researchers all over the world. The Hexoskin connected platform provides a new, convenient way to understand human health in real-life environments. For more information, visit www.hexoskin.com and @Hexoskin on Twitter.

Press Kit

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Sports Illustrated spotlights Hexoskin's biometric shirt

Tom Taylor gives his thoughts on Hexoskin's smart shirt and what makes it so valuable for coaches and their athletes.

"These shirts are designed to give athletes the same sort of data they could get from a performance lab—for example, heart rate recovery and lung capacity—but in more natural environments and without needing to be hooked up to a machine."

"Since the shirts went on sale in 2013, use by professional athletes has been growing. Several members of the Canadian Olympic team in Sochi last year used Hexoskin shirts, including sisters Justine and Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, who won gold and silver, respectively, in the dual moguls competition. The Brooklyn Nets strength and conditioning coach Dr. Jeremy Bettle also uses the shirts to track his players’ physiology both on and off the court. And Cirque du Soleil even uses Hexoskin to monitor its performers during training."

"According to Fournier, one future use of Hexoskin shirts could be screening for possible concussions in sports. Though the shirts would not provide sufficient data to diagnose a concussion, they could be used to pick up some of the early symptoms, including breathing and heart rate irregularities, allowing team doctors to work out which players might need closer medical attention."

Read the paper here: Hexoskin's biometric shirt offers wearable performance tracking

Introducing World's First Biometric Shirts for Kids & Teens

We're proud to announce today that we're releasing Hexoskin Junior, world's first biometric smart shirt tailor-made for kids and teens. These shirts include the same sensors as the adult shirts, giving in-depth insight regarding physical training, sleep and daily activities.