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Portable sensors could enable early detection of diseases
For an effective treatment of diseases the earliest possible identification is required. Researchers now found that wearable sensors could indicate diseases and health problems in the future even before we notice them.
Researchers at the Center for Genomics and Personalized Medicine at Stanford University found during an investigation that one day a portable device might be able to detect disease long before sufferers notice it. This would lead to a significantly improved treatment. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "PLOS Biology".
Wearable sensors and a smartphone may help to identify symptoms of illness and health problems early on. Such a diagnosis would already indicate the disease before those affected notice the signs themselves. (Image: Andrey Popov / fotolia.com) Portable sensors are already in widespread use today
At the present time, many people are using portable sensors to track our movement habits and sleep patterns, for example. In the future, such portable devices may also be able to predict diseases and health problems, the experts explain.
Study examines data from 60 subjects
In the current study, 60 subjects carried portable devices, which performed more than 250,000 measurements per day. These data included, for example, heart rate, blood oxygen, activity, calories burned, sleep patterns, and skin temperature.
Physicians were looking for deviations in the measured data
After finding the normal baseline values for each subject, the researchers looked for deviations from these typical patterns. The physicians wanted to determine whether these changes were triggered or influenced by new environmental conditions, diseases or other factors.
Smartphone could help patients to read the data
The aim of the research is a kind of overview console for human diseases. For example, a car has over 400 sensors. When the engine begins to overheat or the gasoline is nearly empty, lights on the dashboard will begin to indicate the problems. Similarly, it should work for humans in the future. For example, several sensors on the body could forward the measured information to a smartphone and the smartphone would virtually become our dashboard, explains the author. Michael Snyder from Stanford University in California.
Portable sensors enable early detection of diseases
For example, a signal may sound when increased heart rate or heartbeat abnormalities are detected, the researchers explain. This will allow early detection of disease, perhaps even before you can see the first signs of health problems yourself, adds Snyder.
The study evaluated nearly two billion measurements
Altogether Dr. Snyder and his colleagues nearly two billion measurements. These were from subjects with between one and seven commercial activity monitors. The participants carried these devices around the clock. Dr. Snyder himself was one of the test subjects.
Author carries out self-experiment with portable sensors
The author noted on a flight last year, thanks to the help of sensors, that he found changes in his heart rate and oxygen level. Earlier flights and travel with attached sensors enabled the physician to know that his oxygen levels were generally falling during flights and his heart rate increased at the beginning of the flight. After that, the value normalized again. However, the values did not normalize again for the said flight. A little later, Dr. Synder then develop fever and other signs of a disease.
Data from portable sensors indicate early on Lyme disease
The expert suspected that it could be Lyme disease. Previously, the physician had spent a lot of time out in rural Massachusetts for two weeks. He may have been the victim of a tick that transmitted the disease during this period. Dr. Snyder persuaded a doctor to prescribe an antibiotic. Later, he received the test results of his medical examination, which confirmed an existing Lyme disease.
Further research is needed
Some participants in the study had higher heart rate and skin temperature. Later it became clear that these signs signaled a disease. However, a few successful predictions do not mean that the process is already suitable for the masses. Much more research is needed, say the authors.
Risk that laymen misinterpreted the data
Just because people can observe some vital signs on their smartphone or fitness tracker does not mean that they should diagnose themselves without the help of a doctor. The danger lies in the fact that the overwhelming majority of the laymen could misinterpret the data, the researchers warn. (As)