Using a smartwatch's heart rate sensors could also be used to detect other diseases such as influenza. The approach could also help to track disease at home or when medical resources are scarce, such as during a pandemic or in developing countries.
The researchers discovered new signals embedded in heart rate data indicating when individuals were infected with Covid and how sick they became.
They found that individuals with Covid experienced an increase in heart rate per step after the onset of symptoms, while those with a cough also had a much higher heart rate per step than those without a cough.
“We found that Covid dampened biological timekeeping signals, changed how your heart rate responds to activity, altered basal heart rate and caused stress signals,” said researcher professor Daniel Forger. “What we realised was knowledge of physiology, how the body works and mathematics can help us get more information from these wearables.”
The researchers...