Photo of Alessandro Babini

Biotechnology & medicine

Alessandro Babini

A body insight company that helps athletes win world championships

Alessandro is the CEO of the Humon Hex. The Humon Hex is an optical sensor that measures oxygen saturation in muscles. The Hex shines near-infrared light through the skin and measures the way that light is absorbed by the muscle. Based on these readings, the color of the blood in the muscle can be determined and as a result the oxygen saturation can be found. It works on all skin colors and in any condition (irrespective of motion, ambient light, or sweat).

The Humon Hex has been designed to be worn on the thigh to measure oxygen saturation in the quadriceps. This muscle group was chosen to be monitored because it is the most exerted muscle during running, cycling, rowing, or skiing for endurance athletes, which is Humon’s initial target market. However, the Hex works on any muscle in the body and can provide insights to any type of athlete.

Using this localized muscle information, the Hex provides personalized training insights that help athletes improve their performance. The athlete is guided by the Hex through the display of colored training zones that athletes use to pace themselves optimally:

● Green (steady state): when the oxygen delivery and consumption in muscle is balanced meaning the athlete is training at a sustainable pace.

● Orange (approaching limit): when the muscle begins consuming more oxygen than what is being delivered meaning the athlete is nearing their body’s limit.

● Red (limit): when the muscle is consuming significantly more oxygen than what is being delivered meaning the athlete is training at an unsustainable pace.

● Blue (recovery): when the oxygen delivery is greater than the consumption in the muscle meaning the athlete’s muscles are recovering.


The Humon Hex has been clinically validated by Harvard Medical School. Visit the website here.