Repetitive overuse injuries are said to affect up to 75% of runners annually, and there’s little regular folks could do to stop that.

Enter I Measure U (IMU), the small device that is worn around the ankle from where it can measure tibial impacts and, together with a companion app, helps runners reduce the risk of injury.

I Measure U has a bold goal to raise $200,000, with the single unit going for $99 ($89 for early-bird orders).As a run progresses, IMU’s biomechanical algorithm provides the runner with a “Load Score,” taking into account bone mechanics, how bone and tissue recover, and tolerable amounts of load being transferred to the knee. Runners are simultaneously given real-time audio notifications nudging them to adjust their stride or terrain, and are informed if the change has had an effect.

Co-founded by Mark Finch, an Olympic trained athlete-turned-inventor with a Masters in Biomedical Engineering, the company aims to make its device available to runners worldwide through the crowdfunding campaign at Indiegogo.

“Monitoring tibial impact during exercise will help identify specific segments of the run that correspond to high loads – possibly due to terrain and grade changes, muscle fatigue, or changes in a runner’s technique,” Mr. Finch said. “Obtaining a cumulative measurement of load can indicate to the runner if musculoskeletal tissue is at risk of fatigue damage, and whether they have received enough load to maintain tissue health over a longer time frame.”

I Measure U has a bold goal to raise $200,000, with the single unit going for $99 ($89 for early-bird orders). The project is endorsed by RunKeeper, which makes the popular fitness tracking app and which could help the IMU team hit its high target. We’ll see how that goes…