A study, recently peer-reviewed by the Journal of Medical Internet Research, revealed that Apple Watch can be used to identify early signs of coronavirus infection.
The study carried out by the researchers from Mount Sinai Health System in New York found that wearable hardware, and specifically the Apple Watch, are effective in predicting Covid-19 infection up to a week before the arrival of symptoms.
The study found that the Apple Watch can identify subtle changes in the heartbeat. This system can be used to flag if the individual is infected with Covid-19 or not, up to seven days before they feel sick, or infection is detected through testing.
“Our goal was to use tools to identify infections at the time of infection or before people knew they were sick,” said Rob Hirten, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and author of the Warrior Watch study.
“We already knew that heart rate variability markers change as inflammation develops in the body, and Covid is an incredibly inflammatory event. It allows us to predict that people are infected before they know it,” Hirten told CBS MoneyWatch.