NEW YORK CITY (October 31, 2019) -- Frontier X, the next-generation, chest-worn tech device that gives runners and coaches the most accurate read on effort, training load, and heart health, will make its global debut at a New York City launch event on Thursday, Oct. 31 and at the TCS New York City Marathon Expo during the days preceding the Nov. 3 marathon. 

Designed by a team of biomedical engineers and doctors, Frontier X is the first device of its kind, using advanced algorithms to accurately detect both breathing rate (effort) and cardiac strain (heart health), which is a revolutionary breakthrough for wearable tech. 

Paula Radcliffe, the former Marathon world record holder, and Tim Hutchings, 1984 UK Olympian and current broadcaster, will host the event, held at the Hilton in midtown Manhattan. 

Frontier X is produced by Fourth Frontier, an Austin, Texas and Bangalore, India based company co-founded by CEO Sandeep Sibal, and CTO Manav Bhushan. Sibal is a technology entrepreneur and a former Qualcomm executive, and Bhushan is a recent Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Oxford.

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Frontier X provides the user with instantaneous feedback if their effort level (breathing rate) is unsustainable or if their exertion is causing unusual strain on their heart. What differentiates Frontier X from other wearable tech is that the buzz alert is hands-free, which allows the user to adjust their workout effort or pace accordingly while staying in tune with their body during the workout.

Breathing rate—the number of breaths taken per minute—has been established to be a more accurate indicator of effort level during exercise than heart rate or pace. When the user reaches a level where their effort is unsustainable based on their breathing rate, the user receives a single "buzz" from the device which signals the user to back off to a more sustainable effort and pace.  Frontier X allows athletes from casual to elite to find their optimal effort level, and then track their ability to reach and sustain that level for longer periods of time during subsequent workouts as a marker for improvement.

Cardiac strain is a term coined by Fourth Frontier defined as a deficit in the amount of oxygen being circulated to the heart. Frontier X has the technology to detect when the heart muscle is not getting enough oxygen during exercise and alerts the user with a double "buzz" so the user can decrease their exertion level and avoid causing damage to their heart. This condition, where the heart does not get enough oxygen, is called ischemia. If sustained for too long it can lead to damage, which is not always accompanied by pain and yet can be permanent. Until now, this indicator was only measured in sports labs and doctor's offices.

Frontier X retails at $499 but will be available for a special early-bird price of $399 at the TCS NYC Marathon Expo from Oct. 31 - Nov. 2. Purchasers during the Expo will receive a collector's edition product box personally autographed by Paula Radcliffe.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT FRONTIER X

Paula Radcliffe - former Marathon world record holder

“I am so excited about Frontier X and truly think it can revolutionize training and racing for athletes of all abilities. It provides key guidance, reassurance and a means of learning how to tune in to your body and gauge effort at the entry/beginner level. For more experienced athletes, Frontier X provides vital distraction-free feedback enabling them to fine-tune and improve their performance, both in training and racing, by hitting perfect effort levels throughout. The heart and lungs are the fundamental foundations of all endurance sport. Frontier X enables us to protect and listen to them, thus helping us all to work with our bodies in far greater harmony.”

Tim Hutchings - marathon broadcaster and 1984 UK Olympian

“The astonishing thing about the Frontier X is that it produces specific performance data for the wearer that is an absolute and is non-negotiable. So it’s a step forward for any and every endurance athlete who wants to ensure their training is hitting the nail on the head, that every session is correct. What’s groundbreaking is that this information has never been obtainable outside a lab. And it  resonates massively for me personally, because had I been wearing it five years ago, it could potentially have given me a warning about my building atrial fibrillation, a heart defect that can randomly develop in any one of us.”

Budd Coates - 4-time Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier; author of Running on Air

“I’m a true believer that perceived exertion is the best way to monitor your effort and that paying attention to your breathing, paired with stride cadence, is the most efficient way to judge effort. Frontier X offers real-time feedback on these components allowing the athlete to hone in on the perfect pace for the distance being raced or the workout being run.”   

Jonathan Cane - Legendary New York City endurance sports coach 

“Heart rate, pace relative to race intensity, and quite often an athlete's subjective rating of perceived exertion have long been methods of gauging a workout's intensity. While each can be helpful, they also each come with their respective inherent flaws and limitations. Frontier X is the first product to provide the ability to monitor breathing rate and thus gauge intensity using practical and scientifically justified methodology. Frontier X will transform the way athletes and coaches view workouts by allowing for quick detection when an athlete has crossed an intensity threshold that he/she might not yet perceive subjectively."

Michael Conlon - Finish Line Physical Therapy founder

“For endurance athletes, Frontier X is a game-changer that impacts optimal training load and performance by measuring breathing rate, the most important variable in training. For anyone who exercises, the additional measurement of overall heart health is a potential life changer.”

Manav Bhushan - Fourth Frontier Co-founder and CTO
“Over three-and-a-half years of research and development are behind the launch of Frontier X, which has been lab-tested and validated in trials by runners at World Marathon Majors and other races around the world. Frontier X provides users with detailed physiological data that previously was only available in testing through sports medicine labs and doctor’s offices. Fourth Frontier has filed four patents related to Frontier X and has made presentations at medical conferences in the United States and Europe.”

Sandeep Sibal - Fourth Frontier Co-founder and CEO
“Frontier X is a gamechanger. It was built to solve long-standing problems that athletes have had for decades. Am I training and racing at the optimum intensity level? Am I pushing my heart too hard? Am I overtraining or undertraining? These are questions that cannot be answered well with a wrist-worn device because the answers are best found close to the heart and lungs. Our revolutionary chest-worn device uses technologies built for smartphones but applies it in the context of human performance and health. It is extremely satisfying to see legends like Paula Radcliffe believing in our product, philosophy and purpose.”

What is the FOURTH FRONTIER?

Over the past two decades, three waves of wireless products have connected billions of people. The first connected people to other people (cell phones). The second wave has been connecting people to information (smartphones). The third wave is now connecting people to things (the internet of things). With the outer world well-connected, it is time to connect billions of people to their inner selves and explore what is the Fourth Frontier.