In a two-year study involving nearly 5,000 participants, researchers from Tel Aviv University found that the wearables could detect changes in vital signs 23 hours before the first COVID-19 symptom, 62 hours before symptoms of group A streptococcus (GAS), and 73 hours before influenza symptoms appeared.

Their findings also suggest that early detection via wearable technology can induce behavioral changes — such as reduced social contacts — at a critical stage when the disease is most infectious, thus potentially preventing widespread contagion.

“Infectious diseases and pandemics pose a great threat to humanity, and we must harness our scientific and technological abilities to prevent them,” said Prof. Dan Yamin, who led the study, which was recently published in the peer-reviewed Lancet Regional Health Europe.