“I can’t say enough how important Health Study participants were to this initiative,” said Dr. Rothney. “Activity tagging participation was completely voluntary. We are encouraged to see just how many participants are excited to take part — sometimes contributing up to a hundred tags at a time! The Study Watch team was thrilled to see new tags come in every day, because they’re essential to the study: more data means the ability to explore deeper and more challenging areas of human health.”
Moving forward, Project Baseline hopes to leverage this data to advance science around movement disorders. Further, developing robust health-related sensors like the Study Watch can fuel precision medicine efforts and enable more personalized care in areas like weight management, diabetes, mental health, and more.
Since healthcare is not one-size fits all, understanding what happens in between medical appointments can drive more individualized lifestyle recommendations. Over time, healthcare providers can see trends in behavior and make inferences as to what they may mean for patients. For example, a sudden change in a patient’s movement may indicate a possible injury, or the onset of a medical condition like heart disease, or depression. With a ready source of historical data, it’s easier to catch health changes early — leading to more proactive care and better outcomes.
1. A version of the Verily Study Watch has been cleared in the U.S. by the FDA. The version of the Study Watch referenced here is an investigational device.
Posted by Tina Karimi, Contributing Editor, Verily