PORTLAND, OR — "Keeping your eye on the ball" takes on a entirely new meaning when wearing a pair of Senaptec Strobe Glasses.
From the Seahawks to the University of Washington to Alabama and the New York Yankees, the Portland start-up's client list is impressive.
It is resistance training for the brain.
"If I make it harder to do a visual task, my brain is working then harder to accomplish the same goal. And therefore, when I take away the difficulty, I'm better at the task." That's the theory behind CEO Joe Bingold's company.
He and CTO Herb Yoo say they've created a mental time machine.
"Normally the ball comes at you. And it's a movie stream of data. And you watch it as it goes and you catch or something at the end. With the flickering, you get snapshot, snapshot, snapshot of data. And then your brain has to fill in the pieces," Joe says.
Then you remove the glasses.
"What many athletes experience after using the strobe eyewear is they're actually seeing into the future. The ball appears to slow down cuz their brain is projecting where it's going to go," says Joe.
And Herb says the results happen faster than conventional methods.
"Things like weight training and nutrition, it may take a little while to feel the effects? But with sensory training, sometimes you can feel the effect right away."
They also offer what they call "Sensory Stations" that evaluate your vision and brain. Once you pinpoint your weakness, you re-train your brain.
The application is not just for sports. They're starting to see results in the world of rehab and recovery too.
"We're really excited about the opportunity to take cool tech and cool research and bring it to the masses," says Joe.
Senaptec Strobes cost $349. And there are Sensory Stations at four locations in Washington:
- https://www.drivelinebaseball.com/ (Kent, WA)
- http://www.hopecliniconline.com (Tacoma, WA)
- http://www.arlingtonvisiontherapy.com (Arlington, WA)
- http://www.thorbeckes.com (Chehalis, WA)
