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Developing a wearable COVID-19 detector

Medical Pharmaceutical Translations • Nov 3, 2020 12:00:00 AM

Wouldn’t it be great if the smartwatch or step-counting device you wear on your wrist could alert you to the first signs of COVID-19? Developing this technology has become a major goal for a number of wearable monitoring device manufacturers, including Fitbit.

With a grant from the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC) and a new partnership with Northwell Health, the company is coming closer to perfecting its coronavirus-detecting algorithm.

But it hasn’t been an easy process, and the results may not be as clear-cut as anyone had hoped.

Read on for an insightful look at Fitbit (and, by extension, the wearables industry)’s struggle to create a wearable device capable of detecting COVID-19.

A typical Fitbit fitness tracker bracelet

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