Wearable Health Technology Could Find Early Signs of COVID-19
2020-07-23
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1Researchers are studying the effectiveness of wearable devices to identify early signs of disease, including COVID-19.
2Many people already use devices such as the Fitbit or Apple Watch to measure their heart rate and other physical activity.
3Researchers are now studying whether this kind of technology could be used to watch for early warning signs of COVID-19.
4One such device is being tested at West Virginia University in the United States.
5Researchers there reported in May that it can identify COVID-19 symptoms up to three days before people start to experience them.
6The researchers are performing tests with a device called the Oura Ring.
7The ring, worn on the finger, has been around for about two years.
8It was designed to monitor physical activity, sleep effectiveness and heart health.
9The ring sends the information it collects to an app, which rates the quality of the user's activities.
10The app uses artificial intelligence, AI, tools to predict the start of COVID-19 related symptoms, such as a high body temperature and breathing problems.
11The researchers said early tests had shown the system could "predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms three days in advance."
12They reported a success rate of over 90 percent.
13Ali Rezai is the head of the university's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.
14In a statement, Rezai said he thinks the system can help to protect health care and emergency workers dealing with COVID-19 and other fast-spreading diseases.
15Recently, the National Basketball Association, NBA, decided to supply the Oura Ring to its players in an attempt to identify possible signs of COVID-19 as early as possible.
16Another research project is taking place at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California.
17The DETECT study is examining data from devices worn by more than 30,000 volunteers.
18It aims to show whether wearables can predict the start of COVID-19 in people not yet showing symptoms.
19Scripps researchers already demonstrated the value of wearable technology in predicting viral infection.
20Their findings appeared earlier this year in the British publication The Lancet.
21Results of both studies suggest the devices "have the potential to identify people who are pre-symptomatic but still infectious," said Jennifer Radin, the leader of the Scripps research.
22She spoke to the French Press Agency AFP.
23Scripps researchers say they hope to demonstrate that data from wearables may be more dependable and effective than temperature readings.
24"Forty percent of people who come down with COVID don't have a fever," Radin said.
25"This is something that can be used to screen people that's better than a temperature check."
26One effective predictor can a person's heart rate when he or she is at rest.
27Experts say this is because the resting heart rate usually remains unchanged before an infection.
28"We see these changes (in heart rate) four days before someone starts to develop a fever," Radin added.
29Heart rates are easily and effectively measured by most wearables.
30Eric Topol, director of the Scripps institute, told the AFP the idea of using wearables appears promising.
31He noted that more than 100 million Americans already have a smartwatch or other fitness monitoring device.
32While such devices can provide important data to researchers, Topol noted that getting good results requires persuading large numbers of people to take part in the studies.
33Researchers from California's Stanford University, in cooperation with Scripps, launched research in April on the use of wearables to detect COVID-19.
34"Smartwatches and other wearables make many, many measurements per day...which is what makes them such powerful monitoring devices," said Michael Snyder.
35He heads the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine.
36Snyder added that AI-powered devices can be useful in helping individuals identify signs of a serious disorder that they may not detect themselves.
37Such technology "could help people determine if they should stay home in case their body is fighting off an infection," he said.
38I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Researchers are studying the effectiveness of wearable devices to identify early signs of disease, including COVID-19. 2Many people already use devices such as the Fitbit or Apple Watch to measure their heart rate and other physical activity. Researchers are now studying whether this kind of technology could be used to watch for early warning signs of COVID-19. 3One such device is being tested at West Virginia University in the United States. Researchers there reported in May that it can identify COVID-19 symptoms up to three days before people start to experience them. 4The researchers are performing tests with a device called the Oura Ring. The ring, worn on the finger, has been around for about two years. It was designed to monitor physical activity, sleep effectiveness and heart health. 5The ring sends the information it collects to an app, which rates the quality of the user's activities. The app uses artificial intelligence, AI, tools to predict the start of COVID-19 related symptoms, such as a high body temperature and breathing problems. 6The researchers said early tests had shown the system could "predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms three days in advance." They reported a success rate of over 90 percent. 7Ali Rezai is the head of the university's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. In a statement, Rezai said he thinks the system can help to protect health care and emergency workers dealing with COVID-19 and other fast-spreading diseases. 8Recently, the National Basketball Association, NBA, decided to supply the Oura Ring to its players in an attempt to identify possible signs of COVID-19 as early as possible. 9Another research project is taking place at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California. The DETECT study is examining data from devices worn by more than 30,000 volunteers. It aims to show whether wearables can predict the start of COVID-19 in people not yet showing symptoms. 10Scripps researchers already demonstrated the value of wearable technology in predicting viral infection. Their findings appeared earlier this year in the British publication The Lancet. 11Results of both studies suggest the devices "have the potential to identify people who are pre-symptomatic but still infectious," said Jennifer Radin, the leader of the Scripps research. She spoke to the French Press Agency AFP. 12Scripps researchers say they hope to demonstrate that data from wearables may be more dependable and effective than temperature readings. 13"Forty percent of people who come down with COVID don't have a fever," Radin said. "This is something that can be used to screen people that's better than a temperature check." 14One effective predictor can a person's heart rate when he or she is at rest. Experts say this is because the resting heart rate usually remains unchanged before an infection. 15"We see these changes (in heart rate) four days before someone starts to develop a fever," Radin added. Heart rates are easily and effectively measured by most wearables. 16Eric Topol, director of the Scripps institute, told the AFP the idea of using wearables appears promising. He noted that more than 100 million Americans already have a smartwatch or other fitness monitoring device. 17While such devices can provide important data to researchers, Topol noted that getting good results requires persuading large numbers of people to take part in the studies. 18Researchers from California's Stanford University, in cooperation with Scripps, launched research in April on the use of wearables to detect COVID-19. 19"Smartwatches and other wearables make many, many measurements per day...which is what makes them such powerful monitoring devices," said Michael Snyder. He heads the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford's School of Medicine. 20Snyder added that AI-powered devices can be useful in helping individuals identify signs of a serious disorder that they may not detect themselves. Such technology "could help people determine if they should stay home in case their body is fighting off an infection," he said. 21I'm Bryan Lynn. 22Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Stanford University, Scripps Research, Agence France-Presse and online sources. George Grow was the editor. 23We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 24_______________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26monitor - v. to watch, observe or listen to 27app - n. a program for a smartphone or other device that performs a special function 28artificial intelligence - n. the power of a machine to copy intelligent human behavior 29fever - n. a high temperature that can develop in sick people 30in advance - n. beforehand 31data - n. information or facts about something 32potential - adj. having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future 33screen - v. find out if someone has an illness by doing tests on them 34determine - v. to discover facts or the truth about something