TH Observatory Epiwrist & HEpiTracker to track COVID-19 R&D

Many professional sectors have been severely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic since early 2020. Moreover, law enforcement officers and health professionals such as medical doctors, nurses, emergency response teams, other health technicians, etc. -who are the backbone of any ‘efficient response’ during this COVID-19 outbreak worldwide-, have been progressively hit.

The upcoming Epiwrist activity smart device should monitor the user’s cough, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and co-oximeter smoke detector. Additionally, heart rate, sleep, steps activity will be synchronized with HEpiTracker which monitors pandemic-related symptoms. Artificial intelligence algorithms generate daily automatic reports by center, service and job category.

The device settings generate grouped key daily symptom ratings and individual summary results. Additionally, pooled data are sent to a server which, through artificial intelligence algorithms, manage easy-to-understand infographic reports, that should enable hospital directors to periodically monitor the spread of infectious diseases in nearly real-time within each hospital/clinical center and determine any interventions. Epiwrist includes a movement gyroscope sensor and spatial data, synchronized with our HEpiTracker App which obtains further information from users to design and implement clinical measures and strategies with a critical objective: to contain the spread of any infectious disease.

Our SOLUTION: Efficient response to track symptoms of COVID-19, other diseases, and epidemics with artificial intelligence and R&D tools.

What is it and what does it? The combined Epiwrist activity smart device and the HEpiTracker App -both synchronized- are aimed to collect in nearly real-time, and in a daily basis data to thoroughly assess any pandemic and other infectious diseases health risks, depending on the user’s health profile by implementing intuitive clinical questionnaires and several other external tools and actions to identify the spread of COVID-19 and/or upcoming epidemics and better design effective health interventions tailored to suit the needs of the user and/or patients to be reviewed.

Processes and technology: As a proof of concept, HEpiTracker App is a mobile app to help monitor the spread of COVID-19 within hospitals. Following initial discussions and ethical approval, a stepwise approach has been carried out by software developers to create a unique version of an innovative app and then to enhance its functionalities regularly. After several iterations, a minimum set of variables to include in the HEpiTracker App were identified, including demographic and occupational data, symptoms, previous comorbidities, and lab testing variables.

Type of data (synopsis): Epiwrist has a variety of sensors suitable for collecting data such as coughing, body temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation/oximeter, cough covering method and number of times the user is washing his/her hands on a daily basis. The data can be used to predict numerous health conditions.

Final goal and targets: The ultimate goal of this innovative initiative is to assist those in critical need to control COVID-19 and upcoming infectious diseases to address challenges in nearly real-time as well as to find effective solutions for tackling growing global health threats. It constitutes a sustainable project with a powerful impact in the global health system with a complementary business channel while developing international clinical trials. A percentage of the benefits from the global commercialization of the final product should be transferred to cooperation and development actions aligned with the Agenda 2030 in developing countries most affected with COVID-19.

Target audience / beneficiaries: in a first stage, our beneficiaries are the hospital workforce, health centers’ professionals as well as the law enforcement officers. In further stages, beneficiaries could include specific personnel providing public services (primary care, educational centres) and vulnerable populations (migrant centres, inmates, etc.).