[ti:Wearable Health Technology Could Find Early Signs of COVID-19] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Researchers are studying the effectiveness of wearable devices [00:06.52]to identify early signs of disease, including COVID-19. [00:15.00]Many people already use devices such as the Fitbit [00:20.44]or Apple Watch to measure their heart rate and other physical activity. [00:27.92]Researchers are now studying whether this kind of technology [00:33.04]could be used to watch for early warning signs of COVID-19. [00:40.56]One such device is being tested at West Virginia University in the United States. [00:48.96]Researchers there reported in May that it can identify COVID-19 symptoms [00:56.60]up to three days before people start to experience them. [01:02.56]The researchers are performing tests with a device called the Oura Ring. [01:09.84]The ring, worn on the finger, has been around for about two years. [01:15.96]It was designed to monitor physical activity, sleep effectiveness and heart health. [01:25.28]The ring sends the information it collects to an app, [01:30.20]which rates the quality of the user's activities. [01:35.56]The app uses artificial intelligence, AI, tools [01:41.24]to predict the start of COVID-19 related symptoms, [01:46.28]such as a high body temperature and breathing problems. [01:52.56]The researchers said early tests had shown the system [01:57.12]could "predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms three days in advance." [02:06.00]They reported a success rate of over 90 percent. [02:11.60]Ali Rezai is the head of the university's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. [02:20.20]In a statement, Rezai said he thinks the system [02:24.52]can help to protect health care and emergency workers [02:29.36]dealing with COVID-19 and other fast-spreading diseases. [02:36.12]Recently, the National Basketball Association, NBA, [02:41.20]decided to supply the Oura Ring to its players [02:45.68]in an attempt to identify possible signs of COVID-19 as early as possible. [02:54.44]Another research project is taking place [02:57.76]at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California. [03:04.04]The DETECT study is examining data from devices worn [03:09.56]by more than 30,000 volunteers. [03:14.00]It aims to show whether wearables can predict the start of COVID-19 [03:20.32]in people not yet showing symptoms. [03:24.80]Scripps researchers already demonstrated the value of wearable technology [03:31.16]in predicting viral infection. [03:35.12]Their findings appeared earlier this year in the British publication The Lancet. [03:42.68]Results of both studies suggest the devices "have the potential [03:48.64]to identify people who are pre-symptomatic but still infectious," [03:54.52]said Jennifer Radin, the leader of the Scripps research. [04:00.40]She spoke to the French Press Agency AFP. [04:05.92]Scripps researchers say they hope to demonstrate that data from wearables [04:12.16]may be more dependable and effective than temperature readings. [04:19.28]"Forty percent of people who come down with COVID don't have a fever," Radin said. [04:27.40]"This is something that can be used to screen people [04:31.32]that's better than a temperature check." [04:35.20]One effective predictor can be a person's heart rate when he or she is at rest. [04:43.48]Experts say this is because the resting heart rate [04:47.80]usually remains unchanged before an infection. [04:53.88]"We see these changes (in heart rate) four days [04:58.20]before someone starts to develop a fever," Radin added. [05:04.24]Heart rates are easily and effectively measured by most wearables. [05:11.28]Eric Topol, director of the Scripps institute, [05:15.56]told the AFP the idea of using wearables appears promising. [05:22.84]He noted that more than 100 million Americans already have a smartwatch [05:29.00]or other fitness monitoring device. [05:33.68]While such devices can provide important data to researchers, [05:38.96]Topol noted that getting good results requires [05:43.24]persuading large numbers of people to take part in the studies. [05:49.68]Researchers from California's Stanford University, in cooperation with Scripps, [05:56.32]launched research in April on the use of wearables to detect COVID-19. [06:04.32]"Smartwatches and other wearables make many, many measurements per day... [06:10.96]which is what makes them such powerful monitoring devices," said Michael Snyder. [06:18.72]He heads the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine [06:23.40]at Stanford's School of Medicine. [06:27.24]Snyder added that AI-powered devices can be useful in helping individuals [06:34.20]identify signs of a serious disorder that they may not detect themselves. [06:41.72]Such technology "could help people determine if they should stay home [06:47.28]in case their body is fighting off an infection," he said. [06:53.68]I'm Bryan Lynn. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM