According to the results of a new study published in the JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics (American Society of Clinical Oncology), Fitness trackers such as the Fitbit Charge can help patients undergoing cancer treatment and reduce toxicity levels.
Related reading:
- A new study launches to validate Apple Watch’s ECG application in children during cancer therapy
- Fitbit testing out Care platform to evaluate the impact on wellness behavior and Health outcomes
- Huami Technology (Amazfit) wearable study shows positive results for cancer patients.
The study is named “Feasibility of Fitness Tracker Usage to Assess Activity level and toxicities in patients with Colorectal Cancer”.
This study examines the correlation between mean ‘steps per day’ measured by the fitness trackers and toxicities due to postoperative complications in patients undergoing treatment.
And it found that toxicity was lower among patients who clocked at least five thousand steps per day.
The study concludes by suggesting that physical activity levels in users measured by steps per day using wearable trackers can serve as an adjunct to assessing patients’ overall health.
Furthermore, it concludes that future studies incorporating Fitbit Charge can standardize patient assessment and help identify vulnerable populations.
Overall conclusion, as stated by the study researchers, was
“We found that using FC (Fitbit Charge) as a diagnostic tool was feasible and acceptable by patients with CRC. The level of activity correlated well with PS (Health Performance Status), and the baseline activity (steps per day) level was associated with toxicities (absolute incidence), but findings were not significant as this study was not designed to study it.”
It is no surprise that our activity levels correlate with our overall health status. This becomes particularly important for people who are recovering from surgery or those with cancer.
- Apple’s 2020 Health partnerships begin to take shape in the area of post-surgical care and mobility.
- Fitbit assisting Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with a VR based therapy for chronic low back pain
- A new study uses Fitbit Charge HR 4 to access physical function in prostate cancer patients
- Can an Apple Watch assess symptoms in cancer patients? National Cancer Institute study hopes so
Companies such as Apple and Fitbit are therefore working with numerous health sciences companies to not only evaluate the use of wearables for symptom tracking using SpO2 monitoring, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability monitoring but also are working to develop solutions that will help with expedited recovery of patients who have undergone surgeries or other complex procedures.
Apple’s partnership with Zimmer Biomet is a leading example of this initiative. The mymobility platform developed on the Apple Watch via a collaborative effort between Apple and Zimmer Biomet is being used for patients undergoing orthopedic procedures.
Digital health and wellness monitoring are here to stay and only getting started.
