Given the overlap between the physiological parameters measured by Ava and early symptoms of COVID-19, Ava AG, the Swiss medical device company, is calling for research collaboration or funding to study the potential utility of the Ava Bracelet in studies on the diagnosis and monitoring of COVID-19 infections. The goal is to understand if the Ava Bracelet could leverage its real-time monitoring system during sleep of temperature, breathing and pulse rates to provide guidance around if and when people should seek medical care, the company said.
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“Our idea is to offer our bracelet at a significant discount to researchers recognizing the value these physiological datasets add to public health research of infectious diseases,” Ava said in its website.
The Ava Bracelet may be of particular interest to research or healthcare professionals who want to:
- Monitor physiological parameters in patients infected with COVID-19, including asymptomatic confirmed cases
- Compare physiological parameters of trial participants, including physiological changes in response to potential therapeutic agents for COVID-19
- Investigate changes in physiological parameters in patients at higher risk of infection and complications from COVID-19, including:
- Men (4.7% crude fatality ratio compared to women [2.8%])
- People over the age of 60
- People with underlying conditions like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, and cancer
The wrist-worn Ava Bracelet tracks breathing rate, pulse rate, skin temperature, heart rate variability and perfusion. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath. During a fever, body temperature and pulse rate increase. Shortness of breath can be measured by an increased breathing rate.
Why is Ava Bracelet Ideal for Diagnosing Covid-19?
- The Ava Bracelet measures multiple physiological parameters that could be used to identify fever in patients exposed to COVID-19.
- The Ava Bracelet is non-invasive, comfortable to wear and requires very little user interaction
- The data should be synched each morning via a mobile app allowing information sharing with researching physicians.
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“We believe the simple but continuous monitoring of temperature, breathing and pulse rates could provide guidance around if and when people should seek medical care. Furthermore, the recorded physiological data could vastly improve our knowledge of COVID-19’s early signs and overall trajectory; when sharing their data in a clinical research trial, Ava Bracelet users can personally contribute to advancing science and shape our future response to COVID-19,” Ava said.
The Ava Bracelet is not approved for COVID-19 monitoring. This product is intended to support data collection and research during the COVID-19 pandemic but is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent COVID-19.
Ava is asking folks interested in this project to reach out to [email protected] regarding research partnerships.
