Summary: A new study reveals that wearable activity trackers show promising accuracy in detecting early signs of diseases such as COVID-19 and atrial fibrillation, potentially revolutionizing personal health monitoring.
Takeaways:
- High Disease Detection Accuracy: Wearable technology demonstrated an 88% accuracy in detecting COVID-19 and an 87% accuracy in identifying atrial fibrillation, comparable to traditional medical tests.
- Beyond Fitness Metrics: Originally designed for tracking fitness, wearables have advanced to monitor critical health metrics like heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels, showing their potential in medical diagnostics.
- Potential for Expanded Use: While current wearables offer valuable health data, further advancements and broader application across diverse health conditions are needed before they can be fully integrated into clinical practice.
Fitbit, Apple Watch, or Oura ring, wearable technology is in high demand among the health conscious. But beyond measuring heart rates and blood pressure, could fitness trackers be used to test for and effectively screen for disease?
A new University of South Australia study reveals that wearable activity trackers show promise in detecting early signals of disease – particularly atrial fibrillation associated with stroke, and COVID-19.
Disease Detection Accuracy
Assessing the reliability and accuracy of consumer-grade wearable activity trackers to detect and monitor a wide range of medical conditions and events, researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 studies with 1.2 million participants.
The study found that wearable technology could correctly identify:
- COVID-19 status (positive or negative) in 88 out of 100 people, similar to rapid screening tests.
- Atrial fibrillation in 87 out of 100 people, akin to tests undertaken by doctors.
- Falls in 82 of 100 people.
Wearable Technology: Beyond Fitness
Originally designed to track fitness and exercise performance, wearable technology has advanced beyond activity metrics, and is now able to deliver accurate and timely measures of blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, sleep quality, skin temperature, hydration, stress levels and more.
Lead researcher, UniSA’s Ben Singh, PhD, says that wearable activity trackers could revolutionise the detection of medical conditions and disease.
“As healthcare budgets continue to soar, the need for cost-effective interventions that reduce healthcare costs and improve patient outcomes has never been more urgent,” Singh says. “Our systematic review shows that wearable activity trackers like Fitbits and Apple Watches have significant promise in detecting COVID-19 and heart conditions in real-world settings, which has the potential to improve personal health monitoring.
While wearable activity trackers present opportunities for improved personal heath monitoring, co-researcher UniSA’s Professor Carol Maher says there is scope for expansion and improvement.
“The beauty of wearable activity trackers is that they provide an easy and convenient way for people to monitor real-time aspects of their health and wellbeing; but their full potential is yet to be realised,” Maher says. “Wearable trackers are providing some excellent health data, but their application must encompass a greater number of health conditions and demonstrate greater results across diverse populations before they can be considered for clinical practice.”
Featured image: Wearable activity trackers like Fitbits and Apple Watches have significant promise in detecting COVID-19 and heart conditions in real-world settings. Photo: “Fitbit Blaze activity tracker / wristwatch / smartband / smartwatch / smartphone” by Andri Koolme is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
