Thursday, April 16, 2020

COVID-19: wearable devices may predict illness

Dr. Michael Snyder, PhD


Early Detection of Possible COVID-19 Cases

(Excerpt) "Stanford Medicine researchers and their collaborators, Fitbit and Scripps Research, are launching a new effort that aims to detect early signs of viral infection through data from smartwatches and other wearable devices.

By using wearable devices to measure things such as heart rate and skin temperature, which are known to elevate when the body is fighting off an infection, the team seeks to train a series of algorithms that indicates when your immune system is acting up.

If the algorithms succeed, the team hopes they could help curb the spread of viral infections, such as COVID-19...

Once the algorithms are developed and verified... [Dr. Michael Snyder, PhD] said, they could help people keep tabs on their health. Devices with an algorithm could alert users when their heart rate, skin temperature or some other part of their physiology signals that their body is fighting an infection. When people come down with a cold or flu, there’s usually a period just before symptoms set in when they wonder if they’re actually getting sick. Even during that time, without heavy symptoms, a sick individual often can still spread the virus. 'You might wonder, are these sniffles allergies, or am I getting sick?' These algorithms could help people determine if they should stay home in case their body is fighting off an infection,' Snyder said."

Study shows how big data can be used for personal health, 5.19.2020
"A longitudinal big data approach for precision health," Nature.com, 5.8.2020


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