Fighting Coronavirus | Can Your Smartwatch Detect Covid-19? | 11

American Innovations

Wondery

Steven Johnson, History, Kids & Family, Education For Kids, Science

4.6 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2020

⏱️ 25 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

These days, watches don’t just tell time. Smartwatches like Apple Watch and Fitbit measure your heart rate, count your steps, and track your sleep schedule. According to Dr. Michael Snyder, they can also tell you when you’re getting sick – and potentially spot Covid-19 before you’re even symptomatic.

On this episode, Steven talks to Dr. Snyder, who runs the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford, about his new study on whether wearables can predict the onset of Covid-19. What has the study learned so far, and what else can your wearables be trained to detect?

To participate in Dr. Snyder’s study, visit https://innovations.stanford.edu/wearables.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Prime Members, you can listen to American innovations
0:03.6	and free on Amazon Music.
0:05.6	Download the app today.
0:16.8	From Wondry, I'm Stephen Johnson, and this is Fighting Coronavirus.
0:30.0	If we've learned anything during this pandemic, it's that early action is key to stopping
0:46.8	a disease like COVID-19 from spreading.
0:49.6	But how do you do that with so many asymptomatic people?
0:53.8	Researchers at Stanford University are looking to wearable devices as a possible answer.
0:59.6	A new study out of Stanford's Healthcare Innovations Lab is hoping to harness the data collected
1:04.4	by FitBits, Apple Watches, and other wearable devices to give users an early warning of changes
1:10.9	to their baseline health.
1:12.6	By consistently monitoring things like heart rate and skin temperature, it may be possible
1:17.4	for these wearables to tell you when your immune system is acting up.
1:22.2	The study is underway and currently looking for participants who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
1:27.4	The hope is that with enough data, scientists could create algorithms to help curb the spread of viral diseases
1:34.2	before they become pandemics.
1:36.2	Our guest today, Michael Snyder, is a professor and chair of genetics at the Stanford School of Medicine.
1:42.2	He's a wearables evangelist and is leading the study in collaboration with FitBit and Scripps University.
1:57.4	Michael Snyder, welcome to Fighting Coronavirus.
2:08.2	Thanks, it's great to be here.
2:10.2	So let's start with a little bit of background so we understand the context.
2:13.6	Your director of genomics and personalized medicine at Stanford School of Medicine.
	...

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