Apple is launching a study to determine if the Apple Watch can be used to detect respiratory illnesses, including coronavirus or flu. The Cupertino firm is working in partnership with the University of Washington and the Seattle Flu Study.
The study was announced at Apple’s “Time Flies” event in September last year, it but has only recently begun in earnest, as spotted by AppleInsider.
The goal of the study is to see if the information collected by the Apple Watch and iPhone can detect early signs of respiratory illnesses like COVID-19. If you are eligible and decide to participate, you will be provided an Apple Watch to wear. The watch will collect information about your health and activity. You will also be asked to answer simple survey questions in the Apple Research app on your iPhone about respiratory symptoms and lifestyle on a weekly and monthly basis.
If you get sick during the study, you will be provided with a free, at-home nasal swab to be tested for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses, and you will be asked to take some additional health measurements using your Apple Watch.
The study is expected to last “up to six months” and participants accepted into the program will be provided with an Apple Watch for research purposes, which they will be expected to wear “throughout the study, both day and night.”
Enrollees are required to reside in the greater Seattle area, be age 22 or older, and have an Apple iPhone 6s or newer.