For the past few months, smart device companies have been developing methods to collect data that can be used to track early contraction of the coronavirus. “The goal is to spot the earliest possible signs that the virus is active and multiplying, with the potential to be spread to others before a person shows respiratory symptoms,” Fierce Biotech reported.

MIT Media Lab spinoff, Empatica, has signed an agreement with the US Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop wearable sensors that can track early potential signs of the virus and be able to seek medical help and care sooner. It would also notify wearers to isolate sooner which can have a major impact on the spread of Covid-19.

Empatica’s “medical-grade Aura smartwatch-based system will be tested in the real world, worn by frontline healthcare workers for 30 days and matched up with daily COVID-19 swab tests. The goal is to spot the earliest possible signs that the virus is active and multiplying, with the potential to be spread to others before a person shows respiratory symptoms.

"We anticipate that access to real-time and actionable health information will empower people to seek medical advice and care sooner, or to adopt behavioral changes such as temporary self-isolation that can help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and similar infections,” BARDA’s acting director, Gary Disbrow stated.

The company had started looking at data from their device to address respiratory diseases in February.

BARDA has also been funding Evidation Health as the company recruits tens of thousands of participants for their study using its virtual research app to track the pandemic’s wider impact. Also, researchers at Duke University are looking at smartphones and Apple watches for any data that can be correlated to any significant information about contracting the virus.  

The Covidentify project launched in April monitors changes in heart rate, sleep schedule, oxygen levels and activity. The project intends to now distribute devices, through partnerships with Fitbit and Garmin, to underserved communities where the virus spread has been spreading more quickly.

“The researchers aim to recruit and follow people at a high risk of contracting the disease through the next year, such as delivery drivers, grocery store workers, nurse aids and hospital cleaning and cafeteria staff. They also plan to deploy the devices in high-density housing like nursing homes, college dorms, military barracks and homeless shelters,” Fierce Biotech stated.

The goals are to expand data collection capabilities to be able to differentiate the virus from other illnesses. “This differentiation is going to be key, as we expect to see waves of resurgence pop up as the country opens back up, and some of these flare-ups may coincide with flu season,” said Ryan Shaw, an associate professor of nursing and director of the university’s Health Innovation Lab. 

The CovIdentify app will pull data from any device that syncs with the Apple Healthkit application, a standard app on all iPhones. And has a simple sign-up and survey method.

Other companies working with wearables include Oura with its activity-tracking smart ring being worn by 600 healthcare workers to be able to predict the contraction of the virus with 90% accuracy. The study is being done with West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, as well as another they are pursuing with UCSF to monitor quarantined NBA players.