Can your Apple Watch and iPhone tell you if you have COVID-19?
Apple Inc. is teaming up with the University of Washington’s School of Medicine and the Seattle Flu Study to answer this question. In a study that will take place over the next six months, researchers will attempt to detect early signs of respiratory illness with Apple Watches.
Participants in the study will wear Apple Watches throughout the study and complete weekly surveys on their iPhones. They will be tested for the coronavirus at the study’s outset and at any point during the trial that they experience respiratory illness. The Apple Watch will collect information about participants’ health and activity and survey questions will collect additional data on participants’ respiratory symptoms and lifestyle.Those who become ill during the study will be tested for the coronavirus and other respiratory illnesses and will take additional health measurements using the Apple Watch.
A July study, completed by researchers from a number of groups including Stanford University School of Medicine, hypothesized that changes in heart rate, respiratory rate and other biometrics measured constantly by the devices may flag the early stages of virus infection, so an otherwise healthy-looking person knows to self-isolate and seek a COVID-19 diagnostic test.
Smartwatch information from 31 people who tested positive for COVID-19 showed that 80% had data on their wearable devices that indicated infection at the time or before symptoms appeared. Wearable devices picked up the signals of infection early in an average of three days.
Original article posted at The Jerusalem Post.
