At a time when fewer people are able to access face-to-face consultations with their GPs and elderly patients with conditions such as COPD need are shielding, these are very encouraging findings for the future of digital health services.
The DETECT study, launched on March 25, uses a mobile app to collect smartwatch and activity tracker data from consenting participants, and also gathers their self-reported symptoms and diagnostic test results.
Google TrendsTM analyzes the popularity of top Google queries geographically and longitudinally. More recently it has been used as a surveillance and retrospective epidemiological tool to study the impact of COVID-19 around the world.
The study, recently published in Nature Communications, shows the new technique can also overcome some of the challenges of current testing.
Users answer a series of daily questions about their mood and where they are experiencing pain. In return, the app rewards them in the form of advice or songs, resources intended to increase their motivation.