Human Performance Expertise and services

The term ‘human performance’ should be interpreted in the broadest sense of the term as the research focus is not only on health and disease states, but also on healthy aging, and (in)activity and lifestyle.
 
The expertise of this technology center is characterized by research in the “man” domain. Our purpose is to support and evaluate the knowledge gained in the molecular domain and to answer mechanistic questions from the population domain with regards to human performance.

Area of expertise

We focus on four major pillars of the human performance and their interaction:

  • muscle and nerves
  • lungs
  • heart and vessels
  • brain and cognition

Services

We offer an outstanding and broad experience in human in-vivo measurement techniques to study functionality of individual organs, organ systems, regulatory mechanisms, and individuals as a whole, in an integrative way. These techniques can play an important role in the evaluation of new therapies and interventions at the patient level.

Our services include:

  • Support on experimental design and preparation of study plans
  • Assistance in all types of projects related to in vivo measurements:
    • Performance of intervention studies
    • Evaluation new therapies or new medicine  
    • Performance of research into cognitive aging
    • Performance of research centered around patient and health, lifestyle
    • Performance of validation studies
    • Performance of patient home measurements

Human Performance Expertise and services

This technology center is able to combine the most important, high quality techniques available at Radboudumc to perform in-vivo measurements of human performance in the broadest sense of the term.

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Contact

prof. dr. Maria Hopman
RTC coordinator

Contact our team:
+31 (0)24 361 42 00
contact form

Areas of expertise

We can offer research techniques that can examine human performance in different settings and can evaluate new therapies and interventions at the organ and patient level. read more

Research projects

Thermo Tokyo

The 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics will be held in the midst of Tokyo’s summer. A team, led by dr. Thijs Eijsvogels, will perform four inter-related projects to allow Dutch athletes to ‘beat the heat’. read more

MyTemp temperature capsule

We investigated the precision of the recently developed myTemp temperature capsule. read more

MyTemp temperature capsule

The gastrointestinal temperature, measured with ingestible temperature capsules, has been established as a valid surrogate marker for measuring core body temperature. Temperature capsule systems are wireless, relatively noninvasive, and easily applicable in field-based conditions. Although several commercial systems are available, current temperature capsules and data recorders are expensive and have important restrictions such as battery lifetime and expiry.

A Dutch start-up company, myTemp, developed and patented a novel ingestible telemetric temperature capsule system, which is cheaper and does not have a battery. However, the precision of this temperature system has not been investigated yet. Therefore, we examined the validity, test–retest reliability and inertia characteristics of the myTemp ingestible temperature and compared it to the other already available temperature capsule systems.

We found that the myTemp temperature capsule is valid and reliable in measuring gastrointestinal temperature. Although, all capsule systems demonstrated an excellent validity and test-retest reliability, the myTemp system has been established as the most valid and accurate temperature capsule system.

Medipee urine measurements

We are collaborating with Medipee, a company that is developing a medical device to measure urine parameters directly in the toilet. read more

Medipee urine measurements

Urine samples contain valuable information in both clinical (health) and sport settings (hydration level). For that reason, patients often have to provide a urine sample in a urine cup, which is not very practical in both clinical and home-based settings. Therefore, a German Company, Medipee, is developing a new medical device to measure urine parameters directly in the toilet.

We are collaborating with Medipee to validate this new measurement device, which could lead to a smart-toilet that provides direct information regarding an individual’s hydration and health status and could contribute to personalized medicine.
 

Collagen peptides and knee function

Knee joint discomfort is frequently observed in middle-aged individuals and is associated with a reduced daily life activity and an impaired quality of life. read more

Collagen peptides and knee function

Knee joint discomfort is frequently observed in middle-aged individuals and is associated with a reduced daily life activity and an impaired quality of life. Collagen peptide (CP) supplementation might have a beneficial effect on knee discomfort. Roussellot (producer of Peptan Collagen Peptides) partnered with the Radboudumc Physiology department to study the effects of Peptan supplementation on knee discomfort and knee function in 167 middle-aged individuals. CP or placebo supplementation reduces knee discomfort and improves knee function in active middle-aged individuals with self-reported knee discomfort. However, no superior effect of CP supplementation over placebo was observed.

 

Healthy Brain Study

The cohort study is called the ‘Healthy Brain Cohort’ study. The RTC Human Performance is involved in the design of the measurements and data collection. The goal of the Healthy Brain Cohort is to make a unique leap forward in understanding the human brain within the context it lives in. read more

Running Research

In 2011 zijn de afdelingen Fysiologie en Health Evidence van het Radboudumc gestart met een meerjarig onderzoek naar de effecten van een actieve leefstijl op gezondheid, kwaliteit van leven, progressie van ziekten en ziektebeleving.

Our experts