NEWS

Jul
22
2022
Press release in The Guardian based on the scientific publication in BMJ Open
Wrist-worn trackers can detect Covid before symptoms, study finds: Sensor tech can alert wearer to Covid early, helping to prevent onward transmission | READ MORE >>
Jul
01
2022
Poster presentatie bij de AGOG Annual Clinical & Scientific Meeting
Menstrual cycle influence on COVID-19 detection using machine learning and a wearable medical device | READ MORE >>
Jun
28
2022
Publication in BMJ Open: Investigation of the use of a sensor bracelet for the presymptomatic detection of changes in physiological parameters related to COVID-19: an interim analysis of a prospective cohort study (COVI-GAPP)
 | READ MORE >>
Apr
27
2022
Publication in Lancet Digital Health: The performance of wearable sensors in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection: a systematic review
We are pleased to let you know that a new publication from the COVID-RED team is now available online. This scientific article, which is published in Lancet Digital Health, is open access. | READ MORE >>
Dec
24
2021
Update COVID-RED Helpdesk
 | READ MORE >>
Nov
26
2021
Interim report on testing results available
The COVID-RED consortium has created an overview of the testing results for SARS-CoV-2 virus, covering the period from the study start until the end of September 2021. The researchers are now collecting and analysing the data from the last phase of the study. | READ MORE >>
Nov
18
2021
COVID-RED study finished!
After 9 months, the COVID-RED study has ended for all participants! The first participant registered on the 19th of February and the last one joined on the 3rd of June. All in all, 17,824 people registered for the study, of which over 12,000 people made it to the finish. | READ MORE >>
Oct
12
2021
Collaboration with IMI COVID-19 projects
Did you know that in addition to COVID-RED, seven other projects were funded by IMI in the area of diagnostics and treatment? | READ MORE >>
Aug
25
2021
Article COVID-RED in VAP-visie-Analyse
An article about the COVID-RED research has been published in trade journal VAPvisie-Analyse: "Innovative clinical research COVID-RED. Detecting a COVID-infection while sleeping." | READ MORE >>
Aug
12
2021
Publication of COVID-RED study protocol
Recently, the COVID-RED study protocol was published in Trials. In the protocol, you can read more about the study. You can access the publication via this link: | READ MORE >>
Jun
04
2021
Registration for COVID-RED study closed
Yesterday at 16:00 CET, the registration for participation in the COVID-RED study closed. We are very proud to announce that 17,824 participants have signed up for the study. An amazing result. | READ MORE >>
Jun
01
2021
You can still sign up - until 3rd of June, 16:00 CET
The registration for the COVID-RED study will close on next Thursday, 3rd of June, 16:00 CET. Until then, you can still sign up for the study. Will you become one of our study participants? Register today via the COVID-RED study portal (studiedeelname.nl). | READ MORE >>
May
18
2021
Op vakantie & COVID-RED
We kindly ask you to keep participating in the study during your holidays in the Netherlands or abroad.  | READ MORE >>
Apr
09
2021
Pilot study COVID-RED
The COVI-GAPP study, an earlier study in Liechtenstein with the AVA bracelet, has published promising results: in 71% of the cases, the bracelet could detect a COVID-19 infection before the first symptoms appeared. | READ MORE >>
Apr
01
2021
COVID-RED in the national press
Last Friday, on the 26th of March, the COVID-RED study has received a lot of national media attention. | READ MORE >>
Mar
02
2021
COVID-RED study has launched!
The COVID-RED study has started and the first participants have been included. | READ MORE >>
Oct
26
2020
A fertility tracker could be repurposed to spot early COVID-19 cases
COVID-RED’s wearable tech is intended to be able to track variables like skin temperature and breathing rate, potentially spotting early cases of Covid-19 for timely testing | READ MORE >>

A fertility tracker could be repurposed to spot early COVID-19 cases

x
Oct
26
2020

COVID-RED’s wearable tech is intended to be able to track variables like skin temperature and breathing rate, potentially spotting early cases of Covid-19 for timely testing

The highest viral load is expelled by infected individuals in the 48 hours prior to their first report of initial symptoms, says Rick Grobbee, Professor of Clinical Epidemiology at the University Medical Centre, Utrecht. This is a vital period in early detection of disease. The newly-launched IMI project coordinated by Prof. Grobbee, COVID-RED, is developing a wearable technology which, combined with advances in machine learning, aims to warn users who may be ill with COVID-19 (including those without symptoms) to isolate, or seek medical testing sooner than they otherwise would. They expect to launch a clinical trial to collect data for the detection system as early as November 2020.

The clinical trial will recruit 40,000 people across both the Netherlands and Liechtenstein and run until mid-2021. Depending on results from this trial, they hope to have the COVID-RED system available for public use within 12 to 18 months.

How will it be used, and who will use it?

An end user would purchase (or in the case of this study, be given) an Ava bracelet, a wearable device, worn like a watch, that is typically used by women to track fertility. The wearable device is equipped with multiple sensors that communicates with a specifically designed smartphone app and its underlying algorithm. “After downloading the COVID-RED app and providing optional additional information about their risk level (e.g., pre-existing conditions),” says Dr Brianna Goodale, Managing Director of Ava-COVID, “the user then syncs the device to the app.”

“Worn only at night while the user sleeps, the Ava bracelet continually tracks changes in physiological parameters associated with early signs of COVID-19 infection, including resting pulse rate, breathing rate and skin temperature.”

Upon waking, the user would sync their Ava bracelet to the mobile app, which reads the raw data via Bluetooth. The algorithm will then take the user’s nightly changes in physiological parameters as signal inputs and provide the user with real-time feedback about the possibility of developing or potential infection.

“For example, the user may not feel feverish or unwell, but the algorithm will be sensitive enough to detect objective changes in temperature and alert the user if those trends significantly differ from their baseline parameters,” explains Dr Goodale. “In the app, the user can also report the presence and severity of symptoms, along with any potential confounds that could affect the algorithm’s accuracy, like having drunk alcohol or taken medications to reduce fever the night before. Based on the algorithm’s recommendation, the user could choose to self-isolate, consult with a medical professional and/or decide whether further testing in line with national guidelines was warranted.”

Filling a critical gap in the medical response to the virus

The bracelet may also allow people working in emergency departments in hospitals to rest assured that they will not unintentionally expose colleagues or patients by showing up to work while pre-symptomatic. “You could imagine, for example,” says Dr Goodale, “that an emergency medicine nurse enrols in our clinical study and wears the Ava bracelet nightly. While the nurse wears protective gear during shifts and follows all hospital guidelines to minimise transmission, he or she is nevertheless interacting with confirmed COVID-19 patients daily. Wearing the bracelet may provide some peace of mind that they will be alerted as soon as their biophysical parameters change, ahead of when they could first feel unwell. They may even opt for early testing, based on the algorithm’s recommendations.”

She adds, “We believe that this makes the system an ideal candidate during screening point-of-care and at-home symptom monitoring. The Ava bracelet and complementary COVID-RED app provide a solution to a critical gap in the medical response to this virus: namely, at-home detection and in-treatment remote surveillance of vital signs.”

Adapting to a shifting landscape

The constantly changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic will be a challenge for Prof Grobbee and the team. “While we can plan a protocol and develop the system based on what information is available today, it is quite likely that factors like national testing guidelines and standard of care procedures will evolve as we learn more about the SARS-CoV-2 virus.”

“In any randomised clinical trial, a good scientist tries to control as many extraneous variables as possible so as to best isolate and test the potential impact of an intervention on desired outcomes. In our case, that would mean assuming over the next 18 months that the virus will not substantially mutate, that national guidelines will not change, and that an effective treatment or vaccine will not be found. However, we know this cannot be the case.”

Like everyone, the team behind COVID-RED are hoping for a treatment that can combat the virus early on while being aware that the changing face of the pandemic may mean that diagnostic criteria or protocols for testing may change. Thus, it may be that over the course of the clinical trial the system is adapted to, for example, change how it alerts users to seek testing or provide advice on newly developed prophylactic medications.

“While we cannot predict or plan for how the virus and our context will change over the coming year, we recognise that this is a cost of participating in cutting-edge research in a time of global need and are remaining flexible while ensuring we conduct as rigorous scientific inquiry as possible.”