Can a Smart Mouthguard Transform High Impact Sports?
ORB Innovations’ Sport Smart Mouthguard blends dental protection with advanced data monitoring
ORB Innovations has launched the ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard, which blends dental protection with advanced data monitoring to transform athletic performance. The mouthguard, which has undergone safety testing and secured FCC certification, provides athletes with a comprehensive view of their physical output, tracking over 20 metrics such as heart rate, movement patterns, and impact intensity. The wearable has already attracted partnerships with athletes like Olympic Gold Medalist Hilary Knight and Atlanta Falcons running back Bijan Robinson.
Hilary Knight, forward for the Boston Fleet in the PWHL, told Athletech News about how she uses the device to optimize her training.
“I’m excited about a product like ORB joining the market just because there’s nothing like it that exists right now,” Knight said. “To be able to collect heart rate data and other important metrics for me to train and perform at my best—it’s just sheer alignment, and I’m really excited about this partnership.”
The ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard aims to provide athletes with real-time insights that were previously difficult to obtain, especially during off-season training when access to coaching staff can be limited.
“During the summer months, the off-season is where we get a lot of our work done, and my coaching staff isn’t necessarily right there in person,” Knight said. “To be able to sync up the workload and have them dial in my training to make sure it reflects what I’m doing on the ice is extremely important to continue elevating my game.”
Heart Rate Monitoring
One of the mouthguard’s most impactful features for Knight is its heart rate monitoring, which helps her adjust her training intensity.
“Obviously, having the heart rate component is huge, being able to measure the workload,” she said. The technology enables her and her coaching team to make data-driven adjustments, ensuring that her preparation aligns with her on-ice demands.
The mouthguard’s ability to monitor impacts is another critical aspect, especially for high-contact sports like hockey. It detects total linear g-force in three dimensions, providing valuable information for injury prevention.
“Injury prevention is huge,” Knight emphasized. “Staying healthy is the hardest thing to do. Having a full picture of your health and workload on and off the ice is essential. The ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard helps ensure I can approach the season in the best shape possible and bring what I’ve worked on in the off-season into play.”
Knight also highlighted the convenience of the device. “The ease of just being able to toss this in the bag and the accessibility has been easy,” she said. “I haven’t had a wearable, smart mouthguard before, and there are so many hidden points I have yet to tap into. I’m excited to see how this can impact my training and performance.”
The technology is not limited to hockey. Robinson has also adopted the ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard, praising its simplicity and impact on his training.
“As an elite athlete, I’m always looking for training techniques and tools to maximize my performance,” Robinson said. “The ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard allows me to approach training in a new way, utilizing data and technology. I love how easy it is to track my performance and analyze trends like movement and impact intensity, which helps me to be faster, stronger, and safer on the field.”
Knight sees a future where technology like the ORB Sport Smart Mouthguard becomes a standard tool in professional sports. “People are going to be extremely excited about a smart mouthguard like this, especially with the kind of data it can collect,” she said. “It will definitely be a competitive advantage.”