The pandemic may be on its way to making an exit but a new study about COVID-19 and health trackers is causing a stir online.
The research entails the Ava Fertility tracking bracelet which is a great wearable option but little did anyone know that the innocent-looking device had great powers that went as far as detecting COVID-19, even before the arrival of symptoms of the condition.
This study was recently published in the BMJ Open Journal and the findings were very suggestive of combining the best of machine learning with physiological data. And that went as far as claiming that a diagnosis of the SARS COV-2 viral infection was made before the onset of symptoms.
In the same way, we also heard about the study speaking about how useful this gadget can be in cases when there are no symptoms of the condition. And it’s all thanks to the dynamic and robust in-built technology that makes the detection process so simple when there are no symptoms in patients.
The study was a multi-center approach and it involved researchers hailing from three different parts of the world: Canada, Switzerland, and the UK. All the subjects studied were told to wear the Ava bracelet.
This device has the capability to detect heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and even a patient’s blood flow too.
A total of 1160 people were asked to wear the fertility tracking device. All the subjects were below 51. This gadget comes at a retail price of $279 and while that may appear to be steep, well, the benefits involved are plenty.
The duration of the study was between April 2020 and March 2021. Moreover, the gadget was further synchronized using a smartphone application. This way, people’s behaviors were recorded in a systematic manner, and then the results were tabulated and processed to find the conclusions.
Any confounding factors like alcohol, drugs, and medications were also recorded, and that included any possible symptoms related to COVID-19.
127 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were seen and that was detected in 66 people who wore the tracker for at least a month consecutively.
The study was able to record some significant findings including changes observed in a person’s body before the infection as well as during and after it. This was added with a rapidly increasing respiration and heart rate. After that, the results were compared with those who tested negative.
As a whole, the authors concluded that the combo of health trackers and its algorithms did a better job at detecting the infection in people without symptoms. Therefore, it could be used to better limit the spread and isolate individuals suffering from the infection.
On average, it was able to identify positive cases correctly in 68% of the patients, 48 hours before their symptoms were revealed.
Who knew wearable technology could be such a convenient, cheap, and accurate method for people to track their health and wellness during troubled times like a pandemic. Hence, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that devices combined with AI technology are pushing the boundaries in the health world and making us aware of endless possibilities for detection.
Read next: Apple smartwatch series 2 proves to be a life saver for a female swimmer in cold water
The research entails the Ava Fertility tracking bracelet which is a great wearable option but little did anyone know that the innocent-looking device had great powers that went as far as detecting COVID-19, even before the arrival of symptoms of the condition.
This study was recently published in the BMJ Open Journal and the findings were very suggestive of combining the best of machine learning with physiological data. And that went as far as claiming that a diagnosis of the SARS COV-2 viral infection was made before the onset of symptoms.
In the same way, we also heard about the study speaking about how useful this gadget can be in cases when there are no symptoms of the condition. And it’s all thanks to the dynamic and robust in-built technology that makes the detection process so simple when there are no symptoms in patients.
The study was a multi-center approach and it involved researchers hailing from three different parts of the world: Canada, Switzerland, and the UK. All the subjects studied were told to wear the Ava bracelet.
This device has the capability to detect heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, and even a patient’s blood flow too.
A total of 1160 people were asked to wear the fertility tracking device. All the subjects were below 51. This gadget comes at a retail price of $279 and while that may appear to be steep, well, the benefits involved are plenty.
The duration of the study was between April 2020 and March 2021. Moreover, the gadget was further synchronized using a smartphone application. This way, people’s behaviors were recorded in a systematic manner, and then the results were tabulated and processed to find the conclusions.
Any confounding factors like alcohol, drugs, and medications were also recorded, and that included any possible symptoms related to COVID-19.
127 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were seen and that was detected in 66 people who wore the tracker for at least a month consecutively.
The study was able to record some significant findings including changes observed in a person’s body before the infection as well as during and after it. This was added with a rapidly increasing respiration and heart rate. After that, the results were compared with those who tested negative.
As a whole, the authors concluded that the combo of health trackers and its algorithms did a better job at detecting the infection in people without symptoms. Therefore, it could be used to better limit the spread and isolate individuals suffering from the infection.
On average, it was able to identify positive cases correctly in 68% of the patients, 48 hours before their symptoms were revealed.
Who knew wearable technology could be such a convenient, cheap, and accurate method for people to track their health and wellness during troubled times like a pandemic. Hence, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that devices combined with AI technology are pushing the boundaries in the health world and making us aware of endless possibilities for detection.
Read next: Apple smartwatch series 2 proves to be a life saver for a female swimmer in cold water
