They're trying to accelerate a cure
Alphabet division Verily Life Sciences previously debuted the Study Watch, an investigative smartwatch that uses an E-Ink display and passively collects health data to use for research purposes.
Now Verily has found a new partner to put the Study Watch to use: the Michael J Fox Foundation. The Study Watch already collects heart rate data, electrodermal activity and inertial movements. Those inertial movements can be used to track tremors for Parkinson’s patients.
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The goal, Verily tells Wareable, is that the Study Watch will collect enough continuous physiological and environmental data measurements to reflect the daily lived-in experiences of Parkinson’s patients outside of a clinic.
That data can then be used by researchers to better define markers for diagnosis and progression of Parkinson’s Disease. Those objective measures will then help researchers better develop more effective treatments.
The continuous monitoring is helpful because Parkinson’s Disease can look different both person-to-person and hour-to-hour in the same person. It can look different when someone is at a clinic versus resting at home, and allowing researchers to see data from all kinds of scenarios can lead to a better understanding.
The Study Watch will be issued to over 800 participants based in the US in the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative. The Study Watch joins another wearable project in helping Parkinson’s patients: the Emma Watch, which can help curb symptoms and help patients do things like write.
