Todays wearable machine gather data about physical activity, heart rate, body temperature and quality of sleep.
This data is typically used to help people track general well-being.
Smartwatches are the most common jot down of wearable.
There are also smart wrist bands, finger rings and earbuds.
Smart clothing, shoes and eyeglasses can also be considered wearables.
Popular brands include Fitbits, Apple Watches and Garmin watches.
Several studies aretesting algorithmsthatassess datafrom wearable devices to detect COVID-19.
Results to date show that the concept is sound.
However, wearables can be expensive and sometimes challenging to use.
Addressing these issues is important to allow as many people as possible to benefit from them.
An elevated resting heart rate can be related to an infection.
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They also measure and record activity, so they can identify reduced levels of daily activity.
Combining these two measures allowed the researchers to better predict who had an influenza-like illness.
Its not possible to determine if a smart machine wearer has a particular illness from just these data measures.
Body temperature
Fever and persistent cough are themost common symptoms of COVID-19.
This has sparked widespread screening using thermometers, most commonly contactless infrared thermometers.
Despite the ubiquity of thermometers, temperature sensors in wearables are uncommon.
This is due in part tohow complicated it isto obtain true body temperature from skin-based measurements.
There are wearable temperature patches that communicate with smart devices and record temperature continuously.
Nonetheless, a fever alert could lead to earlier intervention.
The COVID-19 outbreak is likely to influence the direction of this research as well as accelerate it.
These compounds can provide a lot of information about a persons health.
Tears also contain compounds from the body, so researchers are investigatingchemical sensing using contact lenses and smart lenses.
To do this, they would have to detect virus-specific RNA.
Much of the ongoing research on developing rapid, point-of-care pathogen detection uses lab-on-a-chip technology.
An example is aCOVID-19 diagnostic testundergoing clinical trials.
The ideal wearable of the future would be similar to these wondrous fictional devices.
But airborne virus detection requires significant equipment tocollect air samples and analyze them.
Theres a risk thatmany people wont accept the technology.
Continued development of broadly accepted health-based wearables should include community input, as outlined in aNational Academies Workshop Summary.
Ongoing research should result in improved technology that, with care, will benefit all of society.
