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A section of the future of digital health was presented by researchers at Mount Sinai in the form of an Apple Watch.
The team’s Warrior Watch study is one of the first on the subject of wearable devices used to identify COVID-19 in people. It turns out that wearing such a device can identify the virus up to seven days earlier than current testing methods, such as nasal swabs.
This new method could pave the way for future diagnostic methods and help monitor and improve management of the virus.
The team’s study was published in the Internet medical research journal.
How wearable devices detect COVID-19
Throughout the study, which lasted from April to September 2020, the team recruited several hundred health workers from Mount Sinai. These participants wore Apple watches that were linked to their iPhone apps, using the app to collect and monitor their health. They also completed daily surveys to give their opinion on potential symptoms of COVID-19 and other factors such as stress.
The main goal that the study researchers paid special attention to was heart rate variability (HRV), something that senses when a person’s nervous system is strained.
The team noticed that using this method of wearing an Apple Watch and monitoring participants’ health closely, they could predict infections for up to a week before traditional tests confirmed diagnoses.
Additionally, they noted that HRV profiles returned to normal within one to two weeks of diagnosis.
How these could be useful against COVID-19
By helping detect COVID-19 earlier through wearable devices, more people could self-isolate sooner, thereby minimizing the spread of the virus during this crucial week before testing is conducted.
More importantly, however, this method can be performed remotely. No healthcare worker needs to be put at risk to perform traditional COVID-19 testing because the diagnosis would be anticipated and detected remotely, and early.
The team points out that it continues to collect data on how wearing Apple watches and other wearable devices can help uncover the impact of COVID-19 on the health of healthcare workers and how factors such as sleep and physical activity are associated with the disease.
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