Smart watches can detect symptoms of COVID-19 before the wearer knows they are infected

A team of researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine on Mount Sinai found evidence that smart watches can detect COVID-19 symptoms before a person becomes aware that they are infected. On their website, the team at Mount Sinai describes the testing of 297 health workers by looking at data from their Apple Watches.

One of the earlier signs of a COVID-19 infection is inflammation in infected parts of the body. And when inflammation begins, the body responds by slightly altering the blood flow. The change in blood flow can be seen in slight changes in a person’s heartbeat, noticeable via smart watches such as those of Apple. By noticing the heartbeat of someone over long periods of time, a smart watch can determine a normal basis for the person wearing the watch. And if a sudden prolonged change occurs, such as sustained heartbeat variability, the device can detect it as well. In the test on Mount Sinai, the volunteers were asked to wear the smartwatch full-time and also install a watch app that specifically looked at sustained changes in their heart rate. The researchers found that the clocks were able to identify two-thirds of the people who were infected for an average of seven days before the volunteers noticed any symptoms.

CBS News recently investigated the findings of the team at Mount Sinai and those of another study at Stanford University, as well as other companies investigating whether their smartwatches could work similarly. They found that the answer was mostly yes: smart watches can often detect a COVID-19 infection up to a week before the onset of symptoms. They further noted that engineers can create smartwatch apps to alert the user, which can then have self-warranty until tested. And that, according to them, could very well delay the spread of the current pandemic and those that may occur in the future.

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