Bonnie Spring, PhD, Director of the Center for Behavior and Health in the Institute for Public Health and Medicine (IPHAM), predicts the use of wearables in research will explode in the near future. Spring and her team have used tracking technology for years, since “the age when palm pilots were cutting edge.” Now, nearly 15 years later, Spring is leading several trials using wearable devices and mobile applications to track behaviors.
In the Sense2stop study, Spring and her team are using wearable sensors to identify when people are most at risk to indulge in a bad habit, such as smoking.
“This is fairly cutting–edge, because we are capitalizing on the fact that people don’t need our help all of the time — they just need it when they are at risk. The problem is, they don’t know when that is, and neither do we,” says Spring.
Spring and her collaborators are also currently testing the impact of a mindfulness intervention during times of stress. Subjects wear a chest strap that collects data on the patient’s respiration and heart rate. When the patient shows physiological signs of stress, the sensor detects it in real time, and sends an intervention to the person’s mobile phone. In addition to tracking stress alone, the team is also testing a suite of sensors to track stress signals related to smoking and overeating.
In another current trial focused on weight loss, Spring and her group are using a “stepped care” model, a way to deliver and monitor tiered treatments. A patient steps up to the next treatment tier as determined by the health professional. Patients in the study are given scales with Wi–Fi that tracks their weight loss progress. Instead of having to wait months to know if the treatment is working, care providers can know within two weeks whether the patient is responding.
In addition to their use in prevention, wearable devices are also being used in rehabilitation. Christine Pellegrini, PhD, adjunct assistant professor of Preventive Medicine, currently uses Fitbit activity trackers in a pilot study to track physical activity levels in patients who have had knee replacement surgery.
Pellegrini and her team are following two groups of patients for four months within the first year after their surgery. One group of patients will receive a Fitbit alone, while the other group will receive Fitbits for themselves and a buddy. Pellegrini hopes to learn if simply providing a wearable device will increase physical activity, as well as determining whether having a friend, spouse or coworker connected with them through the activity tracker app motivates patients to be even more active.
The activity trackers are potentially valuable for knee replacement patients, because though they to physical therapy after surgery, therapy alone may not provide the necessary motivation to lead a healthy, active lifestyle.
Thank You!!!
For More Details Medical Animated Explainer Video
Everywhere I look around, I see only overweight and obese people.
So where are the lean people we see on the internet?
