Imagine a sporting knee guard that "tells" you if you have landed the wrong way in activities such as AFL football, skiing or netball. Learning to land correctly with its help would mean savings of millions of dollars in medical treatment, particularly for ligament injuries.

The Geelong football team, part of the Australian Football League, will trial an "intelligent knee sleeve" that does just this at pre season training sessions beginning this month, under the guidance of their chief medical officer, Dr Hugh Seward.

The knee sleeve has been developed by a collaboration between the Intelligent Polymer Research Institute (IPRI) and Biomedical Science at the University of Wollongong together with CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology.

Strapped to the AFL players' knees will be a sleeve with a specially coated stretchable strip to enable the sleeve to provide feedback to players by emitting an audio tone. Players will know if they have landed properly depending on the type of tone they hear - or don't hear.

"Initially the knee sleeves have been developed for AFL players but similar sleeves could be developed for other sporting applications," IPRI Director Professor Gordon Wallace said.

"Non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injuries are very commonplace in sports including all codes of football, so the knee sleeve has the potential to save millions of dollars world-wide in medical costs," Associate Professor Julie Steele, of UOW's Biomechanics Research Laboratory, said.

CSIRO's Dr Barry Holcombe sees this project as the beginning of an exciting new era for the textile industry.

"Products based on this technology open up new opportunities for textiles way beyond the traditional role of protection and fashion and will completely redefine their importance in everyday lifestyles," he said.

IPRI has signed a strategic alliance agreement with CSIRO's Textile and Fibre Technology in Geelong, Victoria, to develop the necessary intelligent textiles.

The agreement has brought together the extensive expertise of CSIRO in fibre science, textile technology and instrumentation with the University of Wollongong's pioneering intelligent polymer materials.

Media demonstrations: A demonstration of the knee sleeve will be given by players of the Geelong Football team at 10.30am on Friday 16 November at Baytec Stadium, Geelong. A demonstration will also be given at 10.30am on Friday 16 November at the Biomechanics Research Laboratory, Room G19A of Building 15, University of Wollongong.

Media Contacts:

Professor Gordon Wallace, (02) 4221 3127 or mobile 0409 914 410.

Associate Professor Julie Steele, (02) 4221 3881 or mobile 0419 616 210.

Dr Barry Holcombe, (02) 9351 9625 or 0412 272 795. Dr Hugh Seward, 0417 325 515

Leanne Crouch, University of Wollongong, (02) 4221 3110 or mobile 0412 515 189.

Bernadette Lipson, CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology, (03) 5246 4124

Jointly released by the University of Wollongong and CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology

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