A couple of new studies highlighted by a CBS News report indicate that smartwatches like the Apple Watch can help detect COVID-19 before symptoms start or a positive test. The studies, carried out separately by Mount Sinai Health System in New York and Stanford University in California, are giving experts hope that Apple Watch can help “play a vital role in fighting the pandemic and other communicable diseases”.
Mount Sinai research found that the Apple Watch is able to detect “subtle changes in an individual’s heartbeat” up to seven days before the onset of COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test. The study looked at heart rate variability, or the variation in time between heartbeats, and included almost 300 healthcare professionals who used Apple Watches between April 29 and September 29.
This is a measure commonly used to assess the functioning of a person’s immune system, explains the report.
“Our goal was to use tools to identify infections at the time of infection or before people knew they were sick,” said Rob Hirten, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and author of Warrior Watch study.
“We already knew that heart rate variability markers change as inflammation develops in the body, and Covid is an incredibly inflammatory event,” Hirten told CBS MoneyWatch. “This allows us to predict that people are infected before they know it.
“At the moment, we have people saying they are sick and not feeling well, but using an Apple Watch does not require any active user input and can identify people who may be asymptomatic. It is a way to better control infectious diseases, ”said Hirten.
Meanwhile, a separate Stanford study, whose results were released in November, included activity trackers from Garmin, Fitbit and Apple. The study found that these devices can indicate changes in resting heart rate “up to nine and a half days before the onset of symptoms” in patients with positive coronavirus.
The researchers were able to identify nearly two-thirds of COVID-19 cases four to seven days before symptoms, says the study.
The team also created an alarm system that alerts users that their heart rate has increased over a long period of time.
“We set the alarm with a certain sensitivity so that it goes off every two months or more,” said Professor Michael Snyder of Stanford University, who led the study. “Regular fluctuations will not raise the alarm – only significant and sustained changes will.”
“It is a big deal because it is warning people not to go out and meet people,” he added. When Snyder’s alarm went off recently, for example, he canceled a personal meeting in case he was infected.
Snyder explained that this type of technology can help make up for failures in testing strategies. “The problem is, you can’t do [testing] on people all the time, while these devices measure you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, ”he explained.
Apple has not funded or participated in any of these studies, unlike other smartwatch and wearable companies that have ordered similar studies, such as Oura Health and Whoop.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a model last week indicating how Apple Watch and other smartwatches can help stem the spread of COVID-19 by asymptomatic patients.
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