Duke research study that tracks COVID-19 via smartphones, smartwatches goes global
DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A research study at Duke University helping in the fight against COVID-19 is going global.
Duke said more than 4,000 people around the world have enrolled in CovIdentify, which started in April.
It is designed to explore how data collected by smartphones, Apple watches and other smartwatches could determine if the device user has COVID-19.
The project explores factors like biometric information, sleep schedules, oxygen levels and heart rate to indicate early symptoms.
"The goal is to understand which of these variables we're measuring can predict whether or not somebody has COVID without them having to come into the clinic necessarily," said Dr. Jessilyn Dunn, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Duke. "Rather than testing everybody all the time which we know isn't really feasible we want to have a more intelligent method of who should be tested and when."
The study was initially just launched on the web and participants of the survey had questions emailed to them but now there's an app you can download if you're enrolled.
Researchers are looking for more participants, especially, in underserved communities. The project runs through 2021.
