Smartwatches Can Detect COVID-19 Before You Know You’re Sick



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A similar study by Stanford University found that participants wearing a variety of trackers from Garmin, Fitbit, Apple and others found that 81% of patients who tested positive for the coronavirus had changes in their heart rate at rest up to nine and a half days before the start. symptoms.

One of the problems with COVID-19 is that many people are asymptomatic, which means they have no symptoms but are still contagious. This makes it difficult to contain this infection using the traditional method of identifying a sick person and quarantining them.

The ramifications of the studies are clear. “Developing a way to identify people who might be sick before they even know they are infected would really be a breakthrough in the management of COVID-19,” said Dr Hirten. “This technology allows us not only to track and predict health outcomes, but also to respond in a timely and remote manner, which is critical during a pandemic that forces people to stay apart.

Researchers aren’t the only ones to notice that the first symptoms of COVID-19 can be detected by a smartwatch. A company called NeuTigers, born out of research from Princeton University, has developed an artificial intelligence product called CovidDeep that can help identify people with the virus in clinical or nursing home situations.

The company used a clinical-grade portable patient monitor, the Empatica E4, to take a variety of skin, heart rate and blood pressure readings. By providing this information to CovidDeep, they found that they could detect the virus at a rate of 90% – more accurately than conventional temperature tests. They eventually plan to produce their own app that could work with Fitbit, Withings, Apple, Samsung, and other smartwatches.

Even without custom algorithms, a smart or wearable watch could still come in handy. The PGA Tour recently started using Whoop health trackers, which may have helped player Nick Watney realize he was positive. “They’ve done studies where if your respiratory rate goes up overnight … that’s kind of a telltale sign that you might have something,” Grand Champion Rory McIlroy said in June. “It’s actually his Whoop who said [Watney] his breathing rate increased, and that’s why he thought maybe he could have it.

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