The fitness tracker strapped around your wrist can tell you a lot about your well-being, but can it also tell you something about the coronavirus pandemic? On a personal level, the answer is probably not, but when your data is combined with the readings of thousands of other users, it could be priceless. For example, many modern fitness trackers and smartwatches (including the Fitbit Charge 4, Garmin Forerunner 945, and Apple Watch Series 5, to name a few) have pulse oximetry sensors (also called SP02), which give you an idea of saturation. of oxygen in the blood and how it changes in different situations. Low blood oxygen can be a symptom of coronavirus, but diagnosis alone isn't enough—especially when measured with a wristwatch—for many reasons, they just aren't specific enough to begin with. Garmin is particularly outspoken about this, clearly stating that: "Pulse Ox data is intended for recreational use only. Pulse Ox data should not be treated as any kind of medical diagnosis or treatment of disease. It is not a medical device. Similarly, the Fitbit app makes it clear that SP02 measurements from fitness trackers are estimates only.
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(Image credit: Shutterstock) So why aren't they as precise as medical devices? Part of the reason is placement. The type of pulse oximeter used in a hospital is attached to your finger, toe, or ear, where the blood flow is close to the surface. Light is emitted from one side of the oximeter and passes directly through a sensor on the other side. A wrist-worn fitness tracker has the light source and sensor on one side of the wrist and therefore must rely on bouncing light. The blood vessels in his wrist are also further from the surface of his skin, further clouding the waters. There is also the question of knowledge. Even if you do splash around with a medical-grade pulse oximeter (and Amazon buying trends suggest a lot of people do), blood oxygen saturation is only part of the picture and can't be used alone for monitoring. diagnosis. Imagine how easy it would be to carry out large-scale testing if it only involved briefly cutting a device on your finger for half an hour. And if you've never used an oximeter before, you can misread it or misinterpret the results.
The summary
However, that doesn't mean your fitness tracker is useless in the fight against Covid-19, far from it. Fitness trackers can't tell you if you're personally sick, but they have great potential at the population level, not just SP02 measurements. Large amounts of data can show trends such as reduced overall movement (indicating that people don't feel ready to train), increased or disturbed sleep, or increased heart rate (which can indicate a fever when the body is fighting an infection). Polar has just announced that data from its fitness trackers is being used in a new Covid-19 "early warning" project. The work is carried out by the science and research company Elysian Labs and has been commissioned by the United States Army. The study aims to help identify people who can incubate the virus and infect others, but who are not yet showing symptoms.
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(Image credit: Polar) This is a particularly important issue for first responders, and identifying changes in key markers (such as heart rate, heart rate variability, and sleep patterns) in people who later become symptomatic it could help identify infected people and get them out of frontline work faster. Polar has particular experience in collecting and aggregating data obtained for research. He has worked with researchers (including those at Elysian) for decades and has extensive experience producing clean, reliable, and accurate data suitable for serious study. "When you make recommendations to the US military and hold yourself accountable for it, there's a lot of trust," Tom Fowler, president of Polar USA, told TheComparison. “That you really trust the data on which your study is based. For more than 40 years, Polar has been known for its precision, reliability, and stability. "He had already selected Polar based on his own experience, and this is just a lab. We also work extensively with the US Marshals Service. Again, it's the same story: optimizing efficiency. It's a separate C-19 and old, but these are just two examples from the world of military, government and special forces. Time and time again because of this reliability, precision and stability, Polar remains the preferred choice."
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(Image credit: PhysioQ) The initial validation study includes 50 members of the US National Guard, with plans to expand the study to 5,000 people in the coming months, but Polar is also working with researchers from the non-profit organization PhysioQ in a project called Neo in which you can participate. home “This is a free app that will be available to anyone who wants to download it to their smartphone and it will collect data from the Polar Flow app to assess whether it has a negative trend around key biometrics that could indicate something is wrong with you "Fowler said. "If it's not about applying good sleep hygiene habits or early onset illness." Neo will be officially launching soon, but you can sign up now if you want to get involved.
Improve prediction
Polar isn't the only fitness company involved in coronavirus research; many others are collaborating with San Diego's Scripps Research Institute and Stanford Medicine to see how data collected from fitness trackers can predict the spread of viral diseases, including Covid-19. Their joint project is called DETECT, a health study that analyzes data from fitness trackers, including heart rate, sleep, and activity levels, aimed at detecting the emergence and spread of viruses. If you are over 18, live in the United States, and have a Fitbit, Apple Watch, Amazfit, or Garmin device, you can participate and contribute your data by downloading the MyDataHelps app.
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(Image credit: TechRadar) "From our previously published work, we know that data collected from consumer handheld devices can significantly improve the prediction of flu-like illness," said Dr. Eric Topol, director and founder from the Scripps Research Translational Institute, in a press release issued at the launch of the project. Dr. Topol referred to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet, which aimed to determine whether demographic trends in seasonal respiratory infections (such as the flu) could be identified using heart rate data and sleep fitness trackers. The researchers used anonymous data from 47,249 Fitbit users in the United States, and found that the data (especially increased sleep duration and elevated heart rate) significantly improved the prediction of flu-like illness in the 'State.
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(Image credit: Fitbit) Another study, Covidentity, uses data from mobile and wearable devices, including Garmin smartwatches. Garmin owners are encouraged to link their devices to the study, which is ongoing at Duke University, so that researchers can see how their heart rate and activity level are affected by Covid-19. The goal is not just to track the spread of the disease, but to understand whether a person is more likely to get it or is at risk of getting worse.
Get personal
All of these projects are still in their infancy and there are limits to the use of data from fitness trackers and smartwatches. Although they are becoming more affordable, it's impossible to avoid being luxury items, and the people who own them are probably wealthier on average than those who don't, not to mention the majority are younger, more physically active, and better able to work from home. . However, there is great potential here, even after the current crisis is under control. Scripps Research says it hopes to develop more individualized approaches to care that will compare your current vital signs to your personal average, establishing patterns and allowing you to investigate changing trends with aplomb. "There is no quick fix," adds Tom Fowler. "Clearly tell an individual 'clearly, because your biometrics are trending in this direction, you're sick', that doesn't happen. There's a misunderstanding that wearables can detect C-19 - c is silver, it's like asking if I can take a pill and lose weight, or rub a cream on my body and be 20 years into my physical appearance."A good day in your biometric wallet doesn't mean you're a superwoman, just as a bad day doesn't mean you're one step away from from the grave." It just illustrates that something is happening: something makes you decline or be robust. "
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(Image credit: Shutterstock) A downward trend in your wellness stats can be caused by any number of things, and it's up to you to think about what it might be. For example, if you've had a lot of late nights, eating poorly, and staying caffeinated, restless sleep and other problems will be easily explained and you can solve the problem by changing your lifestyle. However, if you have eaten and cared for yourself, it may be worth considering other possibilities, including illness. If you have been in contact with someone who has been diagnosed, it may be a good idea to get tested and self-isolate until you get a proper response. This empowerment is something that goes far beyond the current crisis. "If there's a silver lining, it's the growing awareness of its citizens that they can buy this vision," says Fowler. "Their lifestyle choices matter, they can live a better and more alive life thanks to the data they have always had access to."