One’s mortality risk can be predicted using data collected from wrist-worn motion sensors, according to a recent study. This study is one of the greatest validations of fitness trackers to date, and it suggests that the motion tracking system in cellphones could one day be used to evaluate health status without the requirement for in-person trips to the doctor’s office.
Over 100,000 Britons’ health and biometric information was used in the study, which was published on Thursday in the journal PLOS Digital Health. The enormous UK Biobank project began collecting data from participants in 2006 and will continue to do so for the next 14 years. Scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a model that extracts acceleration and distance traveled in six-minute intervals from data collected from wrist sensors over the course of a week. Author and University of Illinois computer scientist Bruce Schatz explained that the researchers settled on this time frame so that it would be similar to the six-minute walk test. This test is used to assess cardiovascular and pulmonary health by having patients walk a predetermined distance at a steady pace for six minutes and then comparing their results to age-appropriate norms.
The accuracy of the researchers’ model for predicting mortality was 72% after one year and 73% after five years, which is on par with the accuracy observed in a study released only last year that studied the identical data set but utilized hours, rather than minutes. Schatz claimed that this new research provides a more encouraging illustration of unobtrusive monitoring technologies such smartphone and wristband sensors because his team’s methodology requires less data and allows the user a great deal of privacy.
However, there may be concerns with employing commonplace technology to discreetly monitor patients, especially if users are unable to offer ongoing informed permission due to factors such as degenerative sickness or a lack of computer literacy. Although these moral concerns are yet theoretical, Schatz argues that they merit concerted scientific consideration as the research progresses.
