Who knew that a device could be designed to help you know if you have been infected with COVID even before symptoms come out? The jury is still out on this but developments being made are showing promising potential.
COVID-19 Can Potentially Be Detected Before Symptoms Show Through a Wearable Tech
New studies show that wearable health trackers can gather important data to monitor the changes in your skin temperature and heart and breathing rates to detect infection way before the symptoms arise. The technology also utilizes artificial intelligence (AI) to make better assessments.
The tracker showcased by the study is called the Ava bracelet. It is also publicly available as a fertility tracker, capable of monitoring health indicators such as breathing rate, blood flow, skin temperature, and sleep quality, among others.
According to experts, the device monitors observable physiological changes that the AI could process along with all disease-related data through its machine-learning functionality. It also shows promising potential in lowering COVID-19 transmission rates because users will then be able to know early on if they have the virus before they spread it to many others.
How Was The Technology Tested?
The team behind the study took 1,163 people to participate in the research, beginning March 2020 until April 2021. The participants had to wear their bracelets every night, which also recorded the effect of their activities that had an impact on the central nervous system. They also had to undergo regular rapid antibody and PCR tests to see the symptoms they develop before they contract the virus.
127 of the individuals included in the study contracted COVID-19 throughout the research period. Most of them got the infection from their contact with other people within the household and workmates who turned out positive for the virus.
More than half of the COVID-19 positive participants wore the bracelet for a little over 29 days. What the researchers found out was that all of them exhibited changes in five physiological indicators that belong to COVID-19 infection's stages, such as incubation, symptomatic, and recovery phases
"Low-Cost" Alternative in Combating COVID-19
"Our findings suggest that a wearable-informed machine learning algorithm may serve as a promising tool for pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic detection of COVID-19," according to one of the authors of the study, Dr. Lorenz Risch from the Dr. Risch Medical Laboratory in Liechtenstein.
Dr. Risch notes that the sensor technology utilized in the wearable is "easy-to-use" and "low-cost," making it a feasible option for tracking people's health and well-being throughout the pandemic.
"Our research shows how these devices, partnered with artificial intelligence, can push the boundaries of personalized medicine and detect illnesses prior to [symptom occurrence], potentially reducing virus transmission in communities," the researchers note.
The algorithm that powers the AI's function was trained 10 days before the symptoms of COVID-19 positive participants showed up, followed by a 40-day period where they will be continuously monitored. Tests are being expanded to cover a larger sample size. The researchers expect that there will be 20,000 more participants that will be included in their next report.
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