Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) Associate, Olivia Greenhalgh has been nominated for the Future Leader award at the KTP best of the best awards 2021.

Olivia, 26, from Manchester, has been shortlisted for her outstanding work on the development of the breakthrough wellness device, the ProMOTION EV1, which helps athletes get back to fitness faster.

The ProMOTION EV1 is the first in a range of products being developed by Swellaway Limited and their team, which includes Olivia. They have worked closely with elite clubs in football, rugby union, rugby league, as well as leading universities and academics such as Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan).

The fully portable, game-changing product is available this month and monitors athlete progress outside of the physio room. It provides precise targeted temperature and compression control to minimise the reduction in muscle strength that can arise from global cryotherapy. It is battery operated and requires no ice, ice water or tethering. It’s also fully digital, enabling athletes and physiotherapists to set precise programmable treatments and capture data within a smartphone app.

The device draws on research from Manchester Metropolitan University and UCLan as part of the KTP – an initiative encouraging collaboration between businesses and universities. The awards night, which is held virtually on 23^rd September, recognises exceptional and innovative work.

During the development phase of the ProMOTION EV1, Olivia carried out five main human participant studies, which explored a range of outcome measures such as muscle strength, joint position sense, skin surface temperature, pain and swelling.

“The aim of the partnership was to create a robust scientific evidence-base behind the product. The research findings have shaped the development of the ProMOTION EV1 and will continue to do so going forward. My new role will continue to develop the evidence-base created the KTP, which I’m really excited about.”

Prototypes of the device have already been used by clubs and elite athletes and has been hailed as breakthrough technology in the sports science community. This proved to be the case when Manchester United and England star, Harry Maguire used it to help get him fit and play a pivotal role in England’s Euro 2020 campaign.

Maguire said: “The ProMOTION EV1 device was something that improved the timescale of my last injury, 100%. I constantly used the technology on my ankle that helped me get fit.

“I have the England and Manchester United medics who are the best about, but they can‘t be with me 24/7.  The ProMOTION EV1 device is really compact and so I used it as portable therapy for myself.  It provides cold, heat and compression functions which have been hugely beneficial and supported my recovery.”

Professor James Selfe, together with Professor Jim Richards from UCLan, have been heavily involved in the research and development phases of the device. They have conducted rigorous testing on different versions of the device across a range of sports, and have researched optimisation of the device to deliver the best treatment response.

For example, they have explored numerous combinations of time, temperature and compression to define optimal protocols to use across the body.

Professor Selfe, said: “As well as the precision in controlling temperature and compression during treatments, one of the other key benefits for the medical profession is the ability to download data which shows the exact usage of the device when the product is used off-site or at home by athletes. Doctors and physiotherapists will be able to determine which parameters have been used and how often the device is used against physical recovery.

“It also has potential to be used for injury prevention, as a tool to aid athletes’ warm-ups in preparation for sport.