A team of Tampa-based University of South Florida researchers is using wearable technology to study the human body's physiological response to COVID-19 and develop a system to identify patients at risk of severe infection.
The researchers will monitor the physiological conditions of more than 100 study participants who have tested positive for COVID-19. The participants will wear a device, provided by Shimmer Research, that tracks various markers, including skin temperature, oxygen saturation and thoracic bioimpedance.
The team will apply machine learning and artificial intelligence tech to the data collected to find patterns within the physiological variations, which will then be used to create profiles for potential patient outcomes.
"When you look at the viral progression across a population of people, it is very hard to anticipate which people will be severely affected by this virus. There are many different cases of individuals who are otherwise healthy, yet still have a violent reaction,” said Matt Mullarkey, principal investigator of the study, according to the June 12 news release. "We are confident that by examining certain markers, we can find physiological patterns that can help identify patients who are headed toward serious complications."