/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5f0b029682ce460007670d01/0x0.jpg "Apple Watch can detect Covid-19 before symptoms appear, new study shows")
The Apple Watch may be smart enough to know that you have Covid-19 before the test confirms it.
David Phelan
A new study showed that Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin and other devices can detect Covid-19 even before the user has the slightest idea that he is infected.
Smartwatches are increasingly effective as health monitoring devices, with the latest models offering metrics such as blood oxygen level measurements (and blood oxygen levels can be a useful indicator now, as it is related to Covid19).
But a new study by the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, reported by CBS News, found that smartwatches capable of continuous or frequent heart rate monitoring can detect subtle changes in a user’s heartbeat. These changes may indicate that the user has Covid-19 up to seven days before any symptoms are felt or that the infection can be detected in the test. The study followed nearly 300 Mount Sinai healthcare professionals with Apple Watches between April 29 and September 29, 2020. Apple did not participate in the study’s participation or funding.
Rob Hirten, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine in Mount Sinai, New York, said: “Our goal was to use tools to identify infections at the time of infection or before people knew they were sick. We already knew that heart. rate variability markers change as inflammation develops in the body, and Covid is an incredibly inflammatory event. This allows us to predict that people are infected before they know it. “
The study showed that the variability in heart rate, that is, the variation in time between heartbeats, was different in people with Covid-19 compared to those without.
High heart rate variability does not mean high heart rate. This indicates that an individual’s nervous system is active, adaptable and more resistant to stress.
Some Apple Watch models can measure and ECG blood oxygen levels and continuously monitor the heart … [+]
Apple
All of this is important because, it appears, more than half of Covid-19 cases are transmitted by asymptomatic carriers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a carrier finds that he has Covid-19, even though he has no symptoms, he may be careful to isolate himself.
One of the benefits of devices like the Apple Watch is that they are always on the wrist of the owner, providing a constant and effortless way of collecting data – the watch does all the data recovery work, there is no need for user input.
There have been other studies, including one from Stanford University and one from Fitbit, which likewise aim to find indications for Covid-19 as early as possible.
The next stage will be for the wearable to inform the user about the discovered indications. Even though the thought that your watch might say you have Covid-19 is not a pleasant thought, your friends and relatives spared you from spreading the disease to them can be very grateful.
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