Around the globe, there is a growing interest in health-related apps. Furthermore, we know that Apple keeps pushing the envelop with its health-related smartwatch apps. These days, the company is studying the use of the Apple smartwatch to detect COVID-19. If feasible, what a breakthrough to achieve.
Research on the Use of the Apple Smartwatch to Detect COVID-19
As Andrea Park writes for Fierce Healthcare:
Hey Siri, can the Apple Watch predict someone’s risk of contracting COVID-19? To find out, Apple launched a study. The Apple Respiratory Study will rely on the wearable’s optical heart sensor and self-reported weekly surveys to uncover patterns among participants who end up catching COVID, the flu, and other viral infections. The study is led by researchers from Apple, the University of Washington School of Medicine, the Seattle Flu Study, and the Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine. In April 2021, recruiting began with Seattle-area iPhone owners to obtain their participation.
Researchers especially want people ages 22 and older who are at an increased risk of infection. Because of their frontline jobs or group-living situations. In addition to those from Latinx, Black, and Indigenous communities. The latter have been disproportionately affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Each participant will receive one of the latest versions of the Apple Watch to wear day and night for six months. The device will track heart rate, blood oxygen levels, physical activity, and sleep. Participants will also log into the Apple Research app each week . In order to answer questions about their lifestyles and to note respiratory symptoms. If any participants get sick during the study period, they’ll undergo an extra analysis by the Apple Watch. And the research team will provide at-home nasal swab testing for COVID, the flu, and other acute respiratory illnesses.
At the same time, researchers will testing whether receiving simple behavioral nudges like handwashing reminders help decrease an Apple Watch user’s likelihood of contracting viral infections.
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