Feeling Sick? Check Your Wearable To Be Sure
Exercise and movement tracking as well as messaging have been cited as some of the top reason people buy wearable devices like the Apple Watch, Fitbit Flex or Charge, or others from Samsung, Huawei, Sony and even Tag Heuer. As we’ve seen with the smartphone, there are far more applications than originally thought and this is proving to be true with wearables as well. A new study from Stanford University School of Medicine found that wearables can potentially let us know when we’re getting sick. Imagine being able to send that one person home from work who denies being sick, but may infect others in the office. Just check their wearable stats and send them home!
By equipping 60 people with several activity monitors—most people got a Basis smartwatch—the researchers collected close to 2 billion measurements, including heart rate, sleep, fitness, weight, skin temperature and blood oxygen levels. Using this information, they showed it is possible to identify abnormal changes in a person’s typical vital signs, which could signal a change in their health. The findings were published in the journal PLOS Biology.
Study author Michael Snyder, professor and chair of genetics at Stanford, learned that he was getting sick from the feedback he was getting from his own wearable devices. When he was flying to Norway for vacation, Snyder—who was wearing seven biosensors—noticed abnormal changes in his heart rate and blood oxygen levels. When his levels didn’t return to normal, he thought something might be wrong. He soon came down with a fever and was eventually diagnosed with Lyme disease.
