Fitbit smartbands could detect Covid-19

Recently, Fitbit announced that it will carry out a study that seeks to detect COVID-19 symptoms early with its smart bands.

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This is not entirely new, as for the past couple of months several research institutes have been using these same smart bands to determine if COVID-19, or even a common cold, can be diagnosed long before the symptoms are over. Severe conditions may put patients’ health at risk.

This initiative is quite encouraging. Unfortunately, it is still in its infancy, so we will have to wait a long time to know if the smart gangs can be of help in the fight against COVID-19.

What is the experiment carried out by Fitbit and how can you participate

experiment carried out by Fitbit and how can you participate

The idea of ​​this experiment is to gather enough information and analyze it to determine if it is possible to develop an algorithm capable of predicting the appearance of COVID-19 or any other related disease, such as influenza.

Despite the importance of this study, it really is a fairly simple experiment and one that will focus on surveying all the volunteers. The bad news is, if you are interested in volunteering, then you must live in Canada or the USA. UU. Another condition is having been in recent contact with someone infected or suspecting that you have been infected.

In case you meet these requirements, just follow these simple steps:

  • Open the Fitbit app.
  • Click the “Discover” button.
  • Scroll down the list of options that will appear until you reach the “evaluation and reports” section.
  • Select the option to start studying the Fitbit COVID-19.

And yes, you will be part of this study, at least until you change your mind since you always have the option to stop being one of the volunteers.

All the information gathered through this method will be compared with the data in Fitbit’s smart bands. The idea is to be able to find some patterns to develop an application that effectively responds to certain changes related to the disease. It seems complicated but not impossible. 

If positive results are obtained, this could serve to open the doors to a new development of smartwatches and bands. Since, it would be shown that these gadgets are capable of monitoring our health even beyond what they can currently do.