What if your wearable devices could detect a COVID-19 infection before you had symptoms? That’s the question behind in-progress studies at Stanford Medicine and West Virginia University, which are studying devices that you may already use to track your activity and sleep, such as Garmin and Oura ring. So far, the results show promise. Stanford researchers were able to detect the coronavirus before or at the time of diagnosis in 11 of 14 confirmed patients by studying changes in their resting heart rate. In theory, these devices could work as a prediction tool, alerting you to quarantine and get tested ASAP. The premise of the studies:
Data collected from these devices would serve as your own personal baseline — a view of what’s “normal” for your body, from which you can spot deviations.
Fitness and sleep trackers already look at metrics that can change with the onset of infection, such as resting heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature, and sleep patterns.
In addition to alerting individual users, the software could be used to detect outbreak clusters and track the spread throughout communities.
These studies are still ongoing and have yet to be peer reviewed. In the meantime, we encourage you to wear your fitness and sleep trackers to better understand your body’s key metrics. Each week, we’ll also provide you with insights and wellness recommendations based on your data. Don't have a device yet? Your Apeiron Life expert can recommend the ideal product for you and your goals.
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