Tech companies promote smartwatch features like heart rate, oxygen level, fitness, and sleep tracking as useful tools for health-conscious users.
What if smartwatch features went beyond detecting health issues and could actually help prevent major health crises like pandemics?
Smartwatches Can Detect Infections Within Hours—Before Symptoms Show
Recent research shows that smartwatch sensors and health apps can accurately identify infections—such as COVID-19 or the flu—within just 12 hours of exposure, even before symptoms appear.
A March PNAS Nexus study by Texas A&M and Stanford used models to show how smartwatches could help slow pandemics like COVID-19 and flu.
The study found that early alerts from smartwatches could reduce transmission risk by nearly 50%, encouraging potentially infected individuals to isolate before they unknowingly spread illness.
Smartwatches Detect Subtle Physiological Changes Ahead of Symptoms
“Before symptoms appear, the body shows subtle changes—like rising temperature or disrupted sleep—that smartwatches can detect,” said Dr. Martial Ndeffo-Mbah, assistant professor at Texas A&M.
If widely adopted, smartwatches could help stop pandemics before they start by alerting users to take early precautions—such as getting tested—when they detect early signs of illness.
Early Detection Is Critical, as Many Infections Spread Before Symptoms Appear
“CDC data shows most people delay treatment until days after symptoms appear, even though it works best earlier,” said Dr. Ndeffo-Mbah. “People without symptoms spread up to 44% of COVID-19 cases.”
Smartwatches could personalize the threat of infection, encouraging more people to take steps like isolation and testing seriously—boosting the effectiveness of existing health protocols.
Smartwatch Alerts Could Encourage Better Compliance With Health Guidelines
“COVID-19 guidelines included isolating after exposure, but many ignore that if they feel fine,” Ndeffo noted. “A smartwatch could detect early signs of illness in real time with high accuracy, giving users stronger reasons to follow those protocols.”
He noted that while the study focused on COVID-19 and flu, smartwatches could also detect early signs of other illnesses like RSV through subtle body changes.
Testing remains a crucial tool in controlling disease spread, as people are more likely to take action once they receive a diagnosis. However, even when people have widespread access to quality tests, many still use them inefficiently.
“People widely adopted at-home COVID-19 test kits, which greatly benefits public health,” said Dr. Martial Ndeffo-Mbah. “The issue is how people use them—they often test only when they feel sick or before travel, and usually just once. That’s not frequent enough to catch infections early.”
Smartwatches could play a key role in spotting infections sooner, prompting individuals to test and seek treatment earlier.
Early Treatment Is Key for Protecting High-Risk Individuals
“Early treatment can prevent severe symptoms, which is especially important for those who are high-risk or immunocompromised,” Ndeffo added.
One major challenge in public health is encouraging widespread participation in disease-prevention measures.
“If you wake up tired, you probably won’t consider getting a COVID-19 or flu test, especially if it’s inconvenient,” said Dr. Ndeffo-Mbah. “We’re working on ways for smartwatches to give users clearer signals that prompt them to reduce contact or get tested.” The goal is to reach individuals who might otherwise skip testing.
While researchers and developers continue to scale up smartwatch use for disease prevention, they still need to advance the technology further.
“Researchers are advancing the science and public health modeling, while tech developers are refining the tools,” Ndeffo explained. “Because this technology holds such promise, we’re working hard to get it right.”
Read the original article on:Techxplore