The University of South Florida is working on wearable technology that aims to detect the progression of coronavirus in people most at risk.
USF teamed up with Shimmer, an Ireland-based company with a focus on wireless, wearable sensor products, to create the Shimmer3 EBio sensor. The sensor will study and monitor those who have already tested positive for Covid-19.
Researchers will place the Shimmer wearable devices on up to 100 participants. It monitors the physiological conditions such as skin temperature, oxygen saturation and more. Scientists will use artificial intelligence and machine learning, once the data is collected, to review potential patterns that could lead to a better understanding of patient outcomes.
“Being able to accurately measure a variety of indicators is critical in detecting and assessing the progression of Covid-19,” Geoffrey Gill, resident at Shimmer Americas, said in a statement. “By tracking multiple indicators, researchers will be able to identify trends, variations and opportunities that can be missed with intermittent or single variable monitoring.”
This is the latest in several initiatives USF has deployed to fight or slow the spread of coronavirus. It received over $680,000 to fund coronavirus fighting research projects and also received funding from the National Science Foundation for sanitation technology and to build a digital tool to better understand the virus. The university has created masks to help the hearing impaired, teamed up with Tampa General Hospital to create 3D printed swabs to test for coronavirus and created a fund with a donation from Mary Pipino that includes additional funding from Sen. Rick Scott to research the virus.
"USF faculty have been eager to respond quickly to the unprecedented challenges of Covid-19 with their expertise, skills and talent,” Paul Sanberg, USF’s senior VP for research, innovation and knowledge enterprise, said previously. “We are a university with a strong tradition of addressing major crises by ramping up research and innovation efforts which produce new knowledge, treatments, tools and technologies to help communities become healthier and more resilient.”
