DoD Funds Study For Early COVID-19 Symptom Detection Wearable

Global health technology leader Royal Philips and continuous health monitoring company BioIntelliSense will receive nearly $2.8 million from the US Department of Defense (DoD) to validate BioIntelliSense’s FDA-cleared BioSticker wearable device for early COVID-19 symptom detection.  

The clinical study will consist of 2,500 participants with early COVID-19 symptoms or recent COVID-19 exposure and will be conducted in partnership with the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

The research will focus on validating the efficacy of BioIntelliSense’s BioSticker wearable device for early detection of COVID-like symptoms. Additionally, the study will as assess reliability, software interface, scalability, and user environment testing. 

“Key industry and academic partnerships provide DoD a timely opportunity to field medical-grade wearables capable of high-frequency physiologic surveillance,” stated Commander Christopher Steele, director of the Military Operational Medicine Research Program at USAMRDC.

“Our goals are to capitalize on mature, wearable tech and validate predictive algorithms to identify COVID-19 positive individuals that have yet to show clear medical symptoms. Outputs can directly maximize military preparedness and provide immediate benefit for the general population as these tools can be used outside of medical treatment facilities,” Steele continued.  

The BioSticker is a medical-grade wearable that supports continuous multi-parameter vital signs monitoring for 30 days, including physiological biometrics and symptomatic events such as those directly associated with COVID-19. 

BioSticker integration into Phillips’ remote patient monitoring offerings would allow providers to pursue patient-centered care by using data for actionable insights and care interventions.

“The medical-grade BioSticker wearable, combined with advanced diagnostic algorithms, may serve as the basis for identifying pre- and very early symptomatic COVID-19 cases, allow for earlier treatment for infected individuals, as well as reduce the spread of the virus to others,” said James Mault, MD, founder and CEO of BioIntelliSense.  

The University of Colorado’s Center for COMBAT Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine, founded and directed by Vik Bebarta, MD, aims to solve the DoD’s most difficult clinical challenges.

“The University of Colorado School of Medicine and the CU Center for COMBAT Research in the Department of Emergency Medicine are excited to be a lead in this effort that will change how we care for our service members in garrison and our civilians in our communities,” said Bebarta.

“With this progressive solution, we aim to detect COVID in the pre-symptomatic or early symptomatic phase to reduce the spread and initiate early treatment. This trusted military-academic-industry partnership is our strength, as we optimize military readiness and reduce this COVID burden in our community and with frontline healthcare workers,” the professor of Emergency Medicine on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus added.

For over 45 years, Philips has worked with the DoD and Veterans Affairs (VA), providing imaging solutions to over half of all VA Hospitals or Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) using Philips imaging solutions. Additionally, 35 percent of VA Hospitals use Philips’ critical care systems.

The three-way partnership between Philips, DoD, and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus  will fuel innovations for better care through the development of telehealth technologies.

“To turn the tide on COVID-19, the public and private sectors need to use every available tool in their arsenal, which includes looking at new ways of how we can create solutions for early disease detection,” said Vitor Rocha, chief market leader of Philips North America and member of the Executive Committee.

“No one organization will be able to combat COVID-19 alone, but working together, we hope to develop a solution that will allow people to understand if they are in the early stages of illness, and take the appropriate actions to help limit spread and get the treatment they need. This could help give people confidence in getting back to school, work, travel, or just coming together as a family,” Rocha continued.