The data to be used for this study has been collected from WHOOP’s 3.0 hardware, which has also recently been validated by a University of Arizona external study conducted specifically to determine the accuracy of its measurement of respiratory rates during sleep, which the device uses to provide quality of sleep scores to its users. That study showed it to be among the most accurate measurement tools for respiratory rate short of invasive procedures, which is what has led researchers behind this new study to hypothesize that it could be valuable as a sort of early-warning system for detecting signs of abnormal respiratory behavior in COVID-19 patients before those symptoms are detectable by other means.
I’m still waiting for my Oura Ring (that is also participating in research like this) so will be watching the outcome of this wrist-worn research. I did comment last week that it’s a pity Fitbit did not also build temperature and respiration detection into their new Charge 4 – the COVID-19 outbreak would have been the perfect stimulus for people to upgrade their Fitbits.
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