This archive report was first published on 8 June 2020.
TECH BREAK: Researchers eye tech wearables as virus early warning system ¶
Published on June 8, 2020
Researchers are increasingly looking at wearable devices as a possible early warning system for coronavirus infections.
Scientists at the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute have created a digital platform that can detect Covid-19 symptoms up to three days before they show up using the Oura ring, a wearable fitness and activity tracker.
The platform uses artificial intelligence to forecast the onset of Covid-19 related symptoms such as fever, coughing, breathing difficulties and fatigue, with over 90 percent accuracy, according to the university.
Separately, Scripps Research Institute has enrolled more than 30,000 people in a similar study aiming to use wearables to find "presymptomatic" and asymptomatic people with Covid-19.
Early indications suggest the devices "have the potential to identify people who are presymptomatic but still infectious," said Jennifer Radin, a Scripps epidemiologist leading the research.
"Forty percent of people who come down with Covid-19 don't have a fever," Radin said. "This is something that can be used to screen people that's better than a temperature check."
"Forty percent of people who come down with Covid-19 don't have a fever," Radin said. "This is something that can be used to screen people that's better than a temperature check." — Jennifer Radin, Scripps epidemiologist
Researchers say wearables can provide data on body temperature, heart and respiratory rates, sleep and activity patterns and other indicators which can be used as diagnostic tools.
"Smartwatches and other wearables make many, many measurements per day -- at least 250,000, which is what makes them such powerful monitoring devices," said Michael Snyder, chair of genetics at Stanford School of Medicine.
