To prevent the spread of COVID-19 on its premises, NASA is distributing Fitbit devices to 1,000 of its employees, including 150 astronauts.
The devices worn on the wrist can monitor several important health metrics, including body temperature. By recording all of this data, the agency hopes to anticipate any outbreak of COVID at any of its facilities, which span the entire country.
“There is evidence that data on resting heart rate and other key wearable health indicators have the potential to identify flu-like illnesses, such as COVID-19, before symptoms appear,” says a Fitbit press release . “This is important because people can transmit the virus before they realize they have symptoms or when they have no symptoms at all.”
“Based on the user’s daily check-in, the solution will provide NASA employees with daily guidance to help them decide whether to work or stay at home,” says the statement.
For now, NASA envisions the project as a pilot and will assess the impacts of the program before expanding it to more of its employees.
Although there is no peer-reviewed evidence that Fitbit devices are able to detect COVID early, the company is conducting research to investigate the issue.
The news came after a study conducted by Mount Sinai found that the Apple Watch was effectively able to predict positive cases of COVID-19 up to a week before a PCR-based test is positive – so there is precedent that wearables can help detect the disease.