Hormon-IQ app offers revolution for Female Athlete Health
The UK Sports Institute (UKSI) has reached a significant milestone in the delivery of its menstrual cycle tracking technology by developing the Hormon-IQ app.
The Hormon-IQ app, which is now live and being used by athletes within the high-performance system, collates menstrual health data, hormone measurements and wearable insights to support a more integrated understanding of female athlete health.
Having announced a technology partnership with Intel ahead of the Paris 2024 Games to improve the understanding of the relationship between menstrual cycles and health and performance, the Hormon-IQ app was developed collaboratively with athletes, practitioners and technology partners.
The UKSI’s Female Athlete Health and Performance Team have been leading the way with female athlete health education and research for more than 10 years. Hormon-IQ reflects the UKSI’s ongoing commitment to evidence-led female athlete innovation in elite sport.
Dr Richard Burden explained why the Hormon-IQ app is an exciting advancement: “Our ambition was never to create technology that makes decisions for athletes. We’re bringing clarity to complex data, so athletes and coaches can make better informed and more confident decisions.
“This is what progress in female performance looks like. Athlete-informed design, intelligent use of data, and technology that strengthens expertise rather than replacing it.”
The app development has been led by the UKSI’s Performance Data Team who have utilised significant internal expertise, alongside external partners to bring the technology to life.
Karl Hendricks, UKSI Performance Data Team member, said: “A key priority was ensuring the technology was not only technically robust, but genuinely usable in high-performance environments.
“By working closely with external development specialists, we brought in the right user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) expertise to deliver an app that is intuitive, efficient and fit for purpose for athletes and practitioners.”
In addition to the app, the wider Hormon-IQ project is using the emerging field of decision intelligence to help ensure the most effective use of data.
Decision Intelligence combines data, insights and human judgment into a single framework to bridge the gap between information and action.
Lorna Belford, UKSI Performance Data Lead, added: “Decision Intelligence doesn’t just tell us what’s happening, it helps determine what action to take and why.
“A Decision Intelligence approach transforms the complexity of elite training and female physiology into clear, confident decisions, transforming female-specific knowledge into competitive advantage.”
The benefits of the Hormon-IQ app and wider project are being experienced across the high-performance system.
Nikki Gibson, Head of Performance Support at British Curling, shared her reflections on members of the women’s squad having trialled some of the technology:
“British Curling are delighted to be collaborating with the UKSI Female Athlete Health and Performance Data Teams.
“We’re keen to better understand how decisions around training, competition and recovery are currently made, and how more precise information can support that process.
“We want to ensure our female athletes are supported to understand their menstrual cycles and whether, or how, this may influence training and performance.”
The upcoming months present a significant learning opportunity for everyone involved, as athlete feedback will inform additional functions and the insights gained from integrated menstrual cycle and wearable data will help inform better performance and health decisions in the future.