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Okanagan company develops cutting-edge device for tracking athletic performance

The device is touted as ‘the world’s most portable metabolic analyzer’
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The VO2 Master Analyzer, developed by Vernon’s VO2 Master Health Sensors, is a wireless device that can measure a person’s cardiovascular fitness in virtually any exercise environment. (Contributed)

A Vernon company has developed a wireless device that’s touted as the world’s most portable metabolic analyzer.

The device by VO2 Master Health Sensors provides users with an accurate measurement of cardiovascular fitness and aerobic endurance, at a more affordable price than older devices on the market.

Billed as the world’s first completely wireless metabolic measurement device, the app-based VO2 Master Analyzer can accurately measure a person’s metabolic fitness in virtually any exercise environment, the company said in a press release.

“We’re very pleased to be able to provide a much simpler yet precise solution to metabolic testing,” said Peter O’Brien, the company’s president. “The VO2 Master Analyzer will provide users with the option to test their metabolic fitness in any environment.”

VO2max, or maximal oxygen uptake, is the maximum amount of oxygen that can be utilized during an intense exercise, and is one of several qualities that can be tested by the device.

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“For example, NFL coaches can use the device to test players’ VO2max values while they complete on-the-field endurance drills, providing data and insight of the highest relevance. This type of testing is something that couldn’t easily be done until now,” O’Brien said.

The device uses a face mask to analyze the volume and gas concentrations of inhaled and exhaled air, which the company says was not a simple or cheap task prior to the VO2 Master Analyzer.

Until recently, test subjects had to attend a laboratory environment with bulky VO2max lab cart analyzers, or strap on measurement units comprised of backpacks, wires and tubes. Traditional VO2 analysis devices are usually in the $40,000 range, whereas the VO2 Master Analyzer has a retail price of $6,449 per unit.

Data measured by the device can be tracked on a free app: the VO2 Master Manager. Users own their own data, and can use the app’s summarized results or access the raw numbers to make their own custom workout analyses.

VO2 Master was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Vernon. The company developed its prototype of the Master Analyzer in 2016 and launched its first model in 2018.

To learn more, visit VO2 Master Health Sensors’ website.

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Brendan Shykora
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Brendan Shykora

About the Author: Brendan Shykora

I started as a carrier at the age of 8. In 2019 graduated from the Master of Journalism program at Carleton University.
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