A new study published in The Lancet found that using heart rate variability (HRV), wrist-worn health trackers can provide a range of predictive cardiovascular health metrics.

Researchers gathered data from over eight million users of smartwatches made by Fitbit, the company that funded the study. Over 70 countries were represented in this user group, though nearly half were based in the United States.

Read more Combining Fitbit Wearables With Health2Sync Glucose Control App Improves Diabetes Management

Data collected were from several Fitbit device models, but primarily from Charge 2, Alta HR, Blaze, Versa, and Ionic.

Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the variation in time between successive heartbeats and represents a non-invasive index of the autonomic nervous system. Because the autonomic nervous system regulates heart rate during sinus rhythm, HRV summarizes complex non-linear cardiovascular accommodative responses, which are dictated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, to dynamic physiological variations.

Researchers analyzed HRV metrics across the time (measured via the root mean square of successive RR interval differences and SD of the RR interval, frequency (measured by high-frequency and low-frequency power), and graphical (measured by Poincare plots) domains.

Findings show that HRV metrics decrease with age across each type of measurement used in the study, reports MobiHealthNews.

This finding suggests a more rapid decline of parasympathetic function with increasing age than of sympathetic activity, the study said.

HRV metrics varied throughout the day, reaching peak values in the early morning hours. Several authors have discussed the effect of physical activity on HRV, and studies have shown beneficial results. According to a study by one group, the correlation between the number of steps measured by Fitbit devices compared with steps counted by researchers is variable during walking and jogging, but this variation is within 7%.

“We aimed to characterize HRV metrics to understand variations by age, sex, time of day, and physical activity level, and to provide benchmarks for HRV metrics among users of Fitbit,” the authors wrote.

The study also found a correlation between physical activity and HRV, such that increased activity could optimize HRV metrics.

Read more Fitbit CEO Reveals He’s Planning to Transform Fitbit To A Digital Healthcare Company

“Our results might have important implications for the remote monitoring of human health given the widespread availability of wrist-worn trackers,” said researchers. “Although HRV metrics have been previously correlated with cardiovascular health and mortality, our technical advance in the analysis of wearable data at large scale and descriptions of the data now permit its potential use for health promotion through tens of millions of currently available wrist-worn commercial trackers.”

A new study published in The Lancet found that using heart rate variability (HRV), wrist-worn health trackers can provide a range of predictive cardiovascular health metrics.

Researchers gathered data from over eight million users of smartwatches made by Fitbit, the company that funded the study. Over 70 countries were represented in this user group, though nearly half were based in the United States.

Read more: Combining Fitbit Wearables With Health2Sync Glucose Control App Improves Diabetes Management

Data collected were from several Fitbit device models, but primarily from Charge 2, Alta HR, Blaze, Versa, and Ionic.

Heart rate variability (HRV) refers to the variation in time between successive heartbeats and represents a non-invasive index of the autonomic nervous system. Because the autonomic nervous system regulates heart rate during sinus rhythm, HRV summarizes complex non-linear cardiovascular accommodative responses, which are dictated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, to dynamic physiological variations.

Researchers analyzed HRV metrics across the time (measured via the root mean square of successive RR interval differences and SD of the RR interval, frequency (measured by high-frequency and low-frequency power), and graphical (measured by Poincare plots) domains.

Findings show that HRV metrics decrease with age across each type of measurement used in the study, reports MobiHealthNews.

This finding suggests a more rapid decline of parasympathetic function with increasing age than of sympathetic activity, the study said.

HRV metrics varied throughout the day, reaching peak values in the early morning hours. Several authors have discussed the effect of physical activity on HRV, and studies have shown beneficial results. According to a study by one group, the correlation between the number of steps measured by Fitbit devices compared with steps counted by researchers is variable during walking and jogging, but this variation is within 7%.

“We aimed to characterize HRV metrics to understand variations by age, sex, time of day, and physical activity level, and to provide benchmarks for HRV metrics among users of Fitbit,” the authors wrote.

The study also found a correlation between physical activity and HRV, such that increased activity could optimize HRV metrics.

Read more: Fitbit CEO Reveals He’s Planning to Transform Fitbit To A Digital Healthcare Company

“Our results might have important implications for the remote monitoring of human health given the widespread availability of wrist-worn trackers,” said researchers. “Although HRV metrics have been previously correlated with cardiovascular health and mortality, our technical advance in the analysis of wearable data at large scale and descriptions of the data now permit its potential use for health promotion through tens of millions of currently available wrist-worn commercial trackers.”

Wearing Fitbit devices with Health2Sync, the number one diabetes management app in Taiwan has been clinically proven to help both users and healthcare providers to control and better manage the symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, according to a study was conducted with four of Taiwan’s leading diabetes clinics.

Related: Fitbit and Solera Health Expand Collaboration to Reduce Type 2 Diabetes Risk

Results from the study in Taiwan revealed an improvement in patients’ health conditions, with participants recording higher levels of physical activity, reduced HbA1C, fasting blood glucose and LDL-C, and higher blood glucose measurement frequency, Fitbit said in a press release.

“We are thrilled to see such optimistic results in the clinical study. We believe that innovations in Fitbit wearable devices and Fitbit health solutions have a major role to play in the global effort against diabetes – whether it is in reducing the onset of diabetes, or helping patients to better manage their condition – and we look forward to further expanding on our partnership with Fitbit,” said Ed Deng, CEO at Health2Sync.

The Health2Sync Patient Management Platform allows healthcare providers to seamlessly monitor patients’ information and provide remote consultative advice where necessary.

The study found:

• Average glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) decreased 0.33%, while patients who did moderate to high-intensity activity duration of at least 150 mins per week, saw their average HbA1C decreased 0.66%
• Average fasting blood glucose (BG) decreased 10.92 mg/dL
• Average low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) decreased 11.55 mg/dL
• Weight reduction of up to 2 kilograms among some patients
• Increased frequency in moderate to high-intensity activity to 7.03 times a week among some patients

Conducted over a three-month period ending in July 2020 in conjunction with the Neng-Chun Diabetes Clinic, Da-Ya Chang-An Clinic, Yier Clinic and Banqiao Da-Jun Clinic, the study, with patient consent, lets the patients’ doctors track the progress and lifestyle changes of 95 participants with T2DM. Prior to the commencement of the study, doctors at the four clinics established benchmarks for all participating patients based on blood glucose tests at the start of the trial, then on a self-monitored weekly basis throughout the study period.

Each participant was given a Fitbit Inspire HR and the participants voluntarily agreed to connect their Fitbit wearable data with the Health2Sync diabetes management app to track their progress throughout the program. Physical activity data generated from each person’s Fitbit device was integrated into the Health2Sync app, which housed other health metrics such as patients’ HbA1c, BG and cholesterol levels. This let doctors seamlessly monitor patients’ information on the Health2Sync Patient Management Platform and provide remote consultative advice where necessary.

“The results speak for themselves. We saw a reduction in some of our patients' weight by an average of two kilograms and fasting BG levels of study participants from Da-Ya Chang-An clinic decreased 11.10 mg/dL within 3 months, leading to significant health improvements, said Dr. Kuo-Liang Lu of Da-Ya Chang-An Clinic in Taiwan.

Related: UnitedHealth Group Launches New Digital Therapy To Improve Lives Of People With Type 2 Diabetes

Dr. Neng-Chu Yu of Neng-Chun Diabetes Clinic said: "Type 2 diabetes, with the right lifestyle changes – medication adherence, increased activity, and better diet – can lead to major improvements in control of blood glucose levels. The integration of Fitbit data with Health2Sync let me easily view my patients’ activities and self-monitored data, enabling me to make necessary suggestions and give guidance to help patients for further improvement."

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are transforming global socioeconomic structures. Experts are expecting an impact that is astronomical in terms of the number of lives lost and jobs disappeared. As the whole world is taking measures to contain the pandemic, digital technology is helping in the fight.

Read more Oura Ring Detects Fever, A Common Symptom of COVID-19, Before It Occurs

Scientists are making efforts to develop diagnostic tests to detect the virus in order to correctly diagnose patients, enact measures such as isolation and quarantine, and manage their treatment accordingly. Companies are developing artificial intelligence solutions for the detection of respiratory diseases quickly tailored their software to differentiate COVID-19 from other respiratory infections, decreasing image analysis time to a matter of seconds.

According to Ahmad AbuSalah, health informatics and intelligence officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, the pandemic is highlighting the need to drive digital maturity with investment, while addressing data sharing models, reports MobiHealthNews. “One of the challenges that we face here in the Middle East are data collaboration and data sharing. As you know, data is the backbone of digital transformation. Using data discovery tools, I can tell in a secure way how many patients are available in the hospital in that region,” Mr. AbuSalah said.

Wearables have also been explored by countries as a means of contact tracing and safe reopening. British telecommunications firm Vodafone is deploying heat detection cameras at the entrance or reception area of workplaces. The cameras are made by surveillance tech maker Digital Barriers.

Canadian technology company Proxxi launched Halo, a wearable band to help employees maintain social distancing at work. Halo notifies wearers that another band is within 6 feet (2 meters), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

Read more BlueCats Launches Fully Configurable Wearable Contact Tracing Solution

Rapid innovation and implementation of digital technology has allowed healthcare firms to navigate the challenges from the covid-19 pandemic and safely care for their patients. Willingness to rapidly adopt technology has truly helped healthcare professionals during this time of fear and uncertainty.

Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health is partnering with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Group to commercialize its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation app in Europe.

Read more Hexoskin Smart Shirt Accurately Measures Breathing, Could be Useful for Monitoring COPD

The agreement marks one of the first times in respiratory care that a digital therapeutics company and pharmaceutical company are partnering to bring patients a digital therapeutic that supports COPD treatment outcomes through behavior change, rather than relying on pharmacology.

“Our strategic partnership with Chiesi, a growing global company with an established European commercial presence, brings a wealth of experience in navigating the respiratory health landscape in Europe, while expanding patient access to evidence-based, digital physical pulmonary rehabilitation,” said Konstantin Mehl, Founder and President, Kaia Health. “The entire Kaia Health team is excited to join forces with Chiesi to enhance COPD patient care and quality of life through digital therapeutics”.

COPD is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the lungs, damaged lung tissue and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. It is an enormous cost for healthcare systems in Europe.

Under the partnership arrangement, the evidence-backed Kaia Health COPD digital therapeutic, which delivers a personalized, physical pulmonary rehabilitation experience, will be highly focused on key markets in Europe., Chiesi Group said in a press release.

The Kaia COPD solution consists of a mobile app-based software program, accessed via an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and an interface for motivational support that can be delivered by a provider such as health coaches or healthcare professionals. It digitizes and delivers affordable, accessible, physical Pulmonary Rehabilitation – an essential component of COPD treatment – directly to patients’ homes on their smartphone. The app also delivers comprehensive education and customized daily training sessions, along with mindfulness and stress relief exercises, augmented with human coaching support and individualized therapy. The Kaia COPD solution has been investigated in one pilot trial and is currently the subject of an ongoing RCT in Europe. The Kaia Health COPD app is CE Marked in Europe as a Class 1 medical device.

Kaia Health is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven advancement of digital therapeutics.

Read more Spry Health’s the Loop System Wearable Gets FDA Clearance for Monitoring COPD Patients

“We’re pleased to partner with Kaia Health to complement and further strengthen our portfolio in the respiratory therapeutic area, expanding our ability to address patient care through a non-pharmacological approach” said Ugo Di Francesco, Chief Executive Officer of the Chiesi Group. “This agreement embodies Chiesi’s commitment to providing the highest level of care and quality of life possible for people living with COPD and other respiratory diseases, going beyond merely those issues addressable through medication. We have been impressed with Kaia Health’s experience to date bringing impactful digital solutions to the European market and are looking forward to helping European COPD patients benefit from their expertise”.

Digital therapeutics company Kaia Health is partnering with Italian pharma firm Chiesi Group to commercialize its chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation app in Europe.

Read more: Hexoskin Smart Shirt Accurately Measures Breathing, Could be Useful for Monitoring COPD

The agreement marks one of the first times in respiratory care that a digital therapeutics company and pharmaceutical company are partnering to bring patients a digital therapeutic that supports COPD treatment outcomes through behavior change, rather than relying on pharmacology.

“Our strategic partnership with Chiesi, a growing global company with an established European commercial presence, brings a wealth of experience in navigating the respiratory health landscape in Europe, while expanding patient access to evidence-based, digital physical pulmonary rehabilitation,” said Konstantin Mehl, Founder and President, Kaia Health. “The entire Kaia Health team is excited to join forces with Chiesi to enhance COPD patient care and quality of life through digital therapeutics”.

COPD is a long-term condition that causes inflammation in the lungs, damaged lung tissue and a narrowing of the airways, making breathing difficult. It is an enormous cost for healthcare systems in Europe.

Under the partnership arrangement, the evidence-backed Kaia Health COPD digital therapeutic, which delivers a personalized, physical pulmonary rehabilitation experience, will be highly focused on key markets in Europe., Chiesi Group said in a press release.

The Kaia COPD solution consists of a mobile app-based software program, accessed via an iOS or Android smartphone or tablet, and an interface for motivational support that can be delivered by a provider such as health coaches or healthcare professionals. It digitizes and delivers affordable, accessible, physical Pulmonary Rehabilitation - an essential component of COPD treatment - directly to patients' homes on their smartphone. The app also delivers comprehensive education and customized daily training sessions, along with mindfulness and stress relief exercises, augmented with human coaching support and individualized therapy. The Kaia COPD solution has been investigated in one pilot trial and is currently the subject of an ongoing RCT in Europe. The Kaia Health COPD app is CE Marked in Europe as a Class 1 medical device.

Kaia Health is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven advancement of digital therapeutics.

Read more: Spry Health’s the Loop System Wearable Gets FDA Clearance for Monitoring COPD Patients

“We’re pleased to partner with Kaia Health to complement and further strengthen our portfolio in the respiratory therapeutic area, expanding our ability to address patient care through a non-pharmacological approach” said Ugo Di Francesco, Chief Executive Officer of the Chiesi Group. “This agreement embodies Chiesi’s commitment to providing the highest level of care and quality of life possible for people living with COPD and other respiratory diseases, going beyond merely those issues addressable through medication. We have been impressed with Kaia Health’s experience to date bringing impactful digital solutions to the European market and are looking forward to helping European COPD patients benefit from their expertise”.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are transforming global socioeconomic structures. Experts are expecting an impact that is astronomical in terms of the number of lives lost and jobs disappeared. As the whole world is taking measures to contain the pandemic, digital technology is helping in the fight.

Read more: Oura Ring Detects Fever, A Common Symptom of COVID-19, Before It Occurs

Scientists are making efforts to develop diagnostic tests to detect the virus in order to correctly diagnose patients, enact measures such as isolation and quarantine, and manage their treatment accordingly. Companies are developing artificial intelligence solutions for the detection of respiratory diseases quickly tailored their software to differentiate COVID-19 from other respiratory infections, decreasing image analysis time to a matter of seconds.

According to Ahmad AbuSalah, health informatics and intelligence officer at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, the pandemic is highlighting the need to drive digital maturity with investment, while addressing data sharing models, reports MobiHealthNews. “One of the challenges that we face here in the Middle East are data collaboration and data sharing. As you know, data is the backbone of digital transformation. Using data discovery tools, I can tell in a secure way how many patients are available in the hospital in that region,” Mr. AbuSalah said.

Wearables have also been explored by countries as a means of contact tracing and safe reopening. British telecommunications firm Vodafone is deploying heat detection cameras at the entrance or reception area of workplaces. The cameras are made by surveillance tech maker Digital Barriers.

Canadian technology company Proxxi launched Halo, a wearable band to help employees maintain social distancing at work. Halo notifies wearers that another band is within 6 feet (2 meters), reminding them of the need to maintain social distance.

Read more: BlueCats Launches Fully Configurable Wearable Contact Tracing Solution

Rapid innovation and implementation of digital technology has allowed healthcare firms to navigate the challenges from the covid-19 pandemic and safely care for their patients. Willingness to rapidly adopt technology has truly helped healthcare professionals during this time of fear and uncertainty.

Wearables can predict the onset of illnesses using longitudinal temperature data even before symptoms appear, according to new research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study showed that temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Read more NBA Players To Wear Oura Smart Ring To Track COVID-19 Symptoms

The Scientific Reports paper is the first published result from TemPredict, a study of more than 65,000 people wearing a ring manufactured by Finnish startup Oura, that records temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and levels of activity. The goal of the study is to develop an algorithm that can predict the onset of symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue, which are characteristic of COVID-19. Researchers say they hope to reach that goal by the end of the year. They also hope the algorithms will allow public health officials to act faster to contain the virus’ spread, reports UC San Diego News Center.

“This isn’t just a science problem, it’s a social problem,” said Benjamin Smarr, the paper’s corresponding author and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Halicioglu Data Sciences Institute at UC San Diego. “With wearable devices that can measure temperature, we can begin to envision a public COVID early alert system.”

The 50 subjects in the study all owned Oura rings and had had COVID-19 before joining TemPredict. They provided symptom summaries for their illnesses and gave researchers access to the data their Oura rings had collected during the period when they were sick. The signal for fever onset was not subtle, Smarr said. “The chart tracking people who had a fever looked like it was on fire.”

Smarr is TemPredict’s data analytics lead. Ashley Mason, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UC San Francisco, is the principal investigator of the study.

“If wearables allow us to detect COVID-19 early, people can begin physical isolation practices and obtain testing so as to reduce the spread of the virus,” Mason said. In this way, an ounce of prevention may be worth even more than a pound of cure.”

Wearables such as the Oura ring can collect temperature data continuously throughout the day and night, allowing researchers to measure people’s true temperature baselines and identify fever peaks more accurately. “Temperature varies not only from person to person but also for the same person at different times of the day,” Smarr said.

The study, he explains, highlights the importance of collecting data continuously over long periods of time. Incidentally, the lack of continuous data is also why temperature spot checks are not effective for detecting COVID-19. These spot checks are the equivalent of catching a syllable per minute in a conversation, rather than whole sentences, Smarr said.

Read more Oura Ring’s New Feature ‘Moment’ Tracks Your Meditation

In the Scientific Reports paper, Smarr and colleagues noticed that fever onset often happened before subjects were reporting symptoms, and even to those who never reported other symptoms. “It supports the hypothesis that some fever-like events may go unreported or unnoticed without being truly asymptomatic,” the researchers write. “Wearables therefore may contribute to identifying rates of asymptomatic [illness] as opposed to unreported illness, [which is] of special importance in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

A new study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Big Health, a leading digital therapeutics provider, finds that digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (dCBT)—when compared to other care options such as sleep medication, group and individual CBT—is the most cost-effective intervention for helping people overcome poor sleep.

Read more Wearable Maker Zepp Reveals Sleep Study Results, Launches Personalized Digital Lullaby Generator

Published in the journal SLEEP, the study examined the cost-effectiveness of dCBT over a six-month period using a Markov model simulation of 100,000 individuals and measured the direct and indirect costs of insomnia, including health care expenditures, workplace accidents, and workplace productivity.

The results showed that, when compared to no insomnia treatment, dCBT—as represented by Big Health’s Sleepio—was the most cost-effective care option followed by group CBT, sleep medication, and then individual CBT. Sleepio had a positive net monetary benefit of $681.06 per individual over a six-month period. A positive result means that the total cost benefits associated with Sleepio were greater than its direct cost, reports BusinessWire.

Beyond cost, “digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help overcome significant barriers to insomnia treatment for millions of people, including limited access to clinicians in rural areas, the lack of trained clinicians and, for others, the lack of awareness of their treatment options,” said Dr. Andrew Krystal, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. “The near-universal availability of digital devices, including smartphones, gives dCBT the potential to reach many more people than traditional in-person group and individual CBT.”

“The results of this study demonstrate that dCBT can provide a significant return through lower healthcare expenditures, fewer workplace accidents, and better workplace productivity,” said Jenna Carl, Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Big Health. “In addition, its ability to provide a destigmatized and automated treatment option at scale makes it attractive for those suffering from poor sleep.”

Insomnia is a significant public health concern in the U.S. and it is estimated that 20-30% of the population experience symptoms each year. Costs related to insomnia have been estimated to be at least $1,400 per individual over six months (Ozminkowski et al., 2007; when costs are scaled to 2019 dollars). Insomnia is also associated with other costly mental health and chronic physical health conditions, such as depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Hertenstein E, et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2018; Javaheri et al., 2017).

Read more Huami Fitness Tracker Provides Clinical-Grade Accuracy, Says Stanford Sleep Study

Sleepio and Daylight are backed by world-leading clinical evidence with more than 56 papers including 13 randomized controlled trials. With offices in London and San Francisco, Big Health’s products are used by large multinational employers and major health plans to help improve sleep and mental health, covering millions of lives.

A new study authored by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) and Big Health, a leading digital therapeutics provider, finds that digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (dCBT)—when compared to other care options such as sleep medication, group and individual CBT—is the most cost-effective intervention for helping people overcome poor sleep.

Read more: Wearable Maker Zepp Reveals Sleep Study Results, Launches Personalized Digital Lullaby Generator

Published in the journal SLEEP, the study examined the cost-effectiveness of dCBT over a six-month period using a Markov model simulation of 100,000 individuals and measured the direct and indirect costs of insomnia, including health care expenditures, workplace accidents, and workplace productivity.

The results showed that, when compared to no insomnia treatment, dCBT—as represented by Big Health’s Sleepio—was the most cost-effective care option followed by group CBT, sleep medication, and then individual CBT. Sleepio had a positive net monetary benefit of $681.06 per individual over a six-month period. A positive result means that the total cost benefits associated with Sleepio were greater than its direct cost, reports BusinessWire.

Beyond cost, “digital Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help overcome significant barriers to insomnia treatment for millions of people, including limited access to clinicians in rural areas, the lack of trained clinicians and, for others, the lack of awareness of their treatment options,” said Dr. Andrew Krystal, Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. “The near-universal availability of digital devices, including smartphones, gives dCBT the potential to reach many more people than traditional in-person group and individual CBT.”

“The results of this study demonstrate that dCBT can provide a significant return through lower healthcare expenditures, fewer workplace accidents, and better workplace productivity,” said Jenna Carl, Vice President of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs, Big Health. “In addition, its ability to provide a destigmatized and automated treatment option at scale makes it attractive for those suffering from poor sleep.”

Insomnia is a significant public health concern in the U.S. and it is estimated that 20-30% of the population experience symptoms each year. Costs related to insomnia have been estimated to be at least $1,400 per individual over six months (Ozminkowski et al., 2007; when costs are scaled to 2019 dollars). Insomnia is also associated with other costly mental health and chronic physical health conditions, such as depression, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Hertenstein E, et al., 2019; Lin et al., 2018; Javaheri et al., 2017).

Read more: Huami Fitness Tracker Provides Clinical-Grade Accuracy, Says Stanford Sleep Study

Sleepio and Daylight are backed by world-leading clinical evidence with more than 56 papers including 13 randomized controlled trials. With offices in London and San Francisco, Big Health’s products are used by large multinational employers and major health plans to help improve sleep and mental health, covering millions of lives.

Wearables can predict the onset of illnesses using longitudinal temperature data even before symptoms appear, according to new research published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study showed that temperature data collected by Oura ring detected the onset of fevers, a leading symptom of both COVID-19 and the flu, according to a team of researchers from the University of California San Diego, UC San Francisco and MIT Lincoln Lab.

Read more: NBA Players To Wear Oura Smart Ring To Track COVID-19 Symptoms

The Scientific Reports paper is the first published result from TemPredict, a study of more than 65,000 people wearing a ring manufactured by Finnish startup Oura, that records temperature, heart rate, respiratory rate and levels of activity. The goal of the study is to develop an algorithm that can predict the onset of symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue, which are characteristic of COVID-19. Researchers say they hope to reach that goal by the end of the year. They also hope the algorithms will allow public health officials to act faster to contain the virus’ spread, reports UC San Diego News Center.

“This isn’t just a science problem, it’s a social problem,” said Benjamin Smarr, the paper’s corresponding author and a professor in the Department of Bioengineering and the Halicioglu Data Sciences Institute at UC San Diego. “With wearable devices that can measure temperature, we can begin to envision a public COVID early alert system.”

The 50 subjects in the study all owned Oura rings and had had COVID-19 before joining TemPredict. They provided symptom summaries for their illnesses and gave researchers access to the data their Oura rings had collected during the period when they were sick. The signal for fever onset was not subtle, Smarr said. “The chart tracking people who had a fever looked like it was on fire.”

Smarr is TemPredict’s data analytics lead. Ashley Mason, a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UC San Francisco, is the principal investigator of the study.

“If wearables allow us to detect COVID-19 early, people can begin physical isolation practices and obtain testing so as to reduce the spread of the virus,” Mason said. In this way, an ounce of prevention may be worth even more than a pound of cure.”

Wearables such as the Oura ring can collect temperature data continuously throughout the day and night, allowing researchers to measure people’s true temperature baselines and identify fever peaks more accurately. “Temperature varies not only from person to person but also for the same person at different times of the day,” Smarr said.

The study, he explains, highlights the importance of collecting data continuously over long periods of time. Incidentally, the lack of continuous data is also why temperature spot checks are not effective for detecting COVID-19. These spot checks are the equivalent of catching a syllable per minute in a conversation, rather than whole sentences, Smarr said.

Read more: Oura Ring’s New Feature ‘Moment’ Tracks Your Meditation

In the Scientific Reports paper, Smarr and colleagues noticed that fever onset often happened before subjects were reporting symptoms, and even to those who never reported other symptoms. “It supports the hypothesis that some fever-like events may go unreported or unnoticed without being truly asymptomatic,” the researchers write. “Wearables therefore may contribute to identifying rates of asymptomatic [illness] as opposed to unreported illness, [which is] of special importance in the COVID-19 pandemic.”

BlueCats, a leading provider of comprehensive Real-Time Location Solutions based in Austin, Texas, announced the launch of BlueCats Contact Tracing Solution (CTS). BlueCats CTS is a fully configurable wearable solution that provides the most accurate contact tracing and enables employees to adhere to social distancing guidelines with its distinct visual, physical and audible notifications so they know precisely when they are in close or nearby proximity to other employees without compromising privacy.

Related Arjo Partners with Vitalacy to Provide Hand Hygiene Monitoring and Contact Tracing Solutions

“Our goal has always been to provide solutions that create a safer working environment for our customers and their employees,” said Nathan Dunn, BlueCats CEO. “We are IoT and RTLS experts, and we applied our expertise to accelerate the development of the BlueCats CTS to address the urgent need for an accurate, real-time proximity solution that could be relied upon amidst the pandemic.”

BlueCats CTS is easy to use, can be set up within a few hours, and scales to enable businesses to make effective decisions based on accurate metrics and insights. The solution ensures privacy is paramount by requiring no access to employee personal or cell phone data. Using individual Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wearable devices, called SafetyTags, provides a layer of accuracy and anonymity. Data is digitally collected and assessed, increasing accuracy and speed and eliminating the opportunity for manual errors, reports BusinessWire.

Once the BlueCats CTS SafetyTag is associated with a person, it records all interactions with other SafetyTags. No location data is stored. Any contact events between SafetyTags is stored within Loop Cloud, BlueCats’ privacy protected database. In the event an employee becomes symptomatic or tests positive for COVID-19, the employer can instantly produce a contact report via BlueCats’ Loop Cloud platform. Within minutes, specific employees that were in close contact with the infected employee can be appropriately notified, quarantined, and tested anonymously instead of having to shut down an entire facility or sideline an entire shift, quelling concerns in the workplace and ensuring seamless operations.

“While vaccines are being distributed across the world, the harsh reality is not every employee is willing or able to be vaccinated,” Dunn continued. “Accurate and reliable contact tracing is a business necessity for many companies to create a safe workplace capable of accommodating vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.”

Related Coolpad Partners With M2MD To Develop Innovative Social Distancing and Contact Tracing Solutions For Workplace

While the urgent need for contact tracing is most impactful during a pandemic, BlueCats’ UWB-based solution provides additional value when used for asset and personnel tracking, man-down, time on tool, and much more.

BlueCats CTS is currently being used by innovative food processors, major construction companies, and manufacturers globally as well as in major U.S. municipalities.

Vuzix Corporation that its Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group’s MAGNET software suite, which brings new efficiencies and hands-free usage to those working on-site and embraces the very latest developments in AR technology.

Read more Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses Being Used By Istanbul University To Support Remote Student Learning

“Vuzix Smart Glasses are being used worldwide in a variety of industries and use cases. Topcon’s recognition that our Smart Glasses can provide measurable benefits to the construction and surveying markets is great. We’re delighted that the Vuzix Smart Glasses combined with Topcon’s MAGNET software are aiding onsite productivity and keeping projects on schedule and within budget. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership,” stated Paul Travers, Vuzix President and Chief Executive Officer.

The European construction industry was expanding at a rapid rate prior to COVID-19 with industry projects estimated to have totaled approximately $2.8 trillion by 2023, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets. The industry is continuing to grow, however, especially in light of recent data which predicts a global population of 11.1 billion by 2050. While contractors may have been reluctant to advance from traditional and linear methodologies in the past, the industry is now rapidly adopting technology to successfully manage projects while complying with new COVID-19 requirements, according to a press release.

Given the pace of development within the wearable AR environment, the new compatibility with Topcon’s software provides digital engineers, surveyors, contractors, layout personnel and on-site Building Information Modeling (BIM) technicians with a new, enhanced processing opportunity that also offers distinct cost savings.   Providing visual aids on smart glasses lenses and enabling the control of instruments via voice-commands, this new combination of technology allows the user to precisely layout and measure points on a job site, increasing accuracy and productivity.

Onsite surveyors and engineers can benefit from smart glasses giving them hands-free access to positioning data for setting out markers and quality assurance. With safety a key priority on construction sites, the Vuzix safety-rated smart glasses also help users to work safely and increase situational awareness by reducing the need to look down at a tablet, allowing the user to use voice commands to capture and mark points.  More on this solution can be found here.

Adam Box, Business Development Manager Vertical Construction at Topcon Positioning Group, said: “This new compatibility with Vuzix Smart Glasses represents the next generation of surveying equipment in the European market. Coupling this advanced technology with our already popular MAGNET software suite means that enhanced productivity, efficiency, and reduced costs can become a reality on many projects across the region. This is key at this point in time when much of the industry is looking to accelerate economic recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read more Pixee Medical Successfully Finishes its First Total Knee Replacement Surgery Guided Only by the Vuzix M400 AR Glasses

Topcon Positioning Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial, and agriculture markets. The company is headquartered in Livermore, California.

Vuzix Corporation that its Smart Glasses are now compatible with Topcon Positioning Group's MAGNET software suite, which brings new efficiencies and hands-free usage to those working on-site and embraces the very latest developments in AR technology.

Read more: Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses Being Used By Istanbul University To Support Remote Student Learning

“Vuzix Smart Glasses are being used worldwide in a variety of industries and use cases. Topcon's recognition that our Smart Glasses can provide measurable benefits to the construction and surveying markets is great. We're delighted that the Vuzix Smart Glasses combined with Topcon's MAGNET software are aiding onsite productivity and keeping projects on schedule and within budget. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership,” stated Paul Travers, Vuzix President and Chief Executive Officer.

The European construction industry was expanding at a rapid rate prior to COVID-19 with industry projects estimated to have totaled approximately $2.8 trillion by 2023, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets. The industry is continuing to grow, however, especially in light of recent data which predicts a global population of 11.1 billion by 2050. While contractors may have been reluctant to advance from traditional and linear methodologies in the past, the industry is now rapidly adopting technology to successfully manage projects while complying with new COVID-19 requirements, according to a press release.

Given the pace of development within the wearable AR environment, the new compatibility with Topcon's software provides digital engineers, surveyors, contractors, layout personnel and on-site Building Information Modeling (BIM) technicians with a new, enhanced processing opportunity that also offers distinct cost savings.   Providing visual aids on smart glasses lenses and enabling the control of instruments via voice-commands, this new combination of technology allows the user to precisely layout and measure points on a job site, increasing accuracy and productivity.

Onsite surveyors and engineers can benefit from smart glasses giving them hands-free access to positioning data for setting out markers and quality assurance. With safety a key priority on construction sites, the Vuzix safety-rated smart glasses also help users to work safely and increase situational awareness by reducing the need to look down at a tablet, allowing the user to use voice commands to capture and mark points.  More on this solution can be found here.

Adam Box, Business Development Manager Vertical Construction at Topcon Positioning Group, said: “This new compatibility with Vuzix Smart Glasses represents the next generation of surveying equipment in the European market. Coupling this advanced technology with our already popular MAGNET software suite means that enhanced productivity, efficiency, and reduced costs can become a reality on many projects across the region. This is key at this point in time when much of the industry is looking to accelerate economic recovery following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Read more: Pixee Medical Successfully Finishes its First Total Knee Replacement Surgery Guided Only by the Vuzix M400 AR Glasses

Topcon Positioning Group is a leading designer, manufacturer, and distributor of precision measurement and workflow solutions for the global construction, geospatial, and agriculture markets. The company is headquartered in Livermore, California.

BlueCats, a leading provider of comprehensive Real-Time Location Solutions based in Austin, Texas, announced the launch of BlueCats Contact Tracing Solution (CTS). BlueCats CTS is a fully configurable wearable solution that provides the most accurate contact tracing and enables employees to adhere to social distancing guidelines with its distinct visual, physical and audible notifications so they know precisely when they are in close or nearby proximity to other employees without compromising privacy.

Related: Arjo Partners with Vitalacy to Provide Hand Hygiene Monitoring and Contact Tracing Solutions

“Our goal has always been to provide solutions that create a safer working environment for our customers and their employees,” said Nathan Dunn, BlueCats CEO. “We are IoT and RTLS experts, and we applied our expertise to accelerate the development of the BlueCats CTS to address the urgent need for an accurate, real-time proximity solution that could be relied upon amidst the pandemic.”

BlueCats CTS is easy to use, can be set up within a few hours, and scales to enable businesses to make effective decisions based on accurate metrics and insights. The solution ensures privacy is paramount by requiring no access to employee personal or cell phone data. Using individual Ultra-Wideband (UWB) wearable devices, called SafetyTags, provides a layer of accuracy and anonymity. Data is digitally collected and assessed, increasing accuracy and speed and eliminating the opportunity for manual errors, reports BusinessWire.

Once the BlueCats CTS SafetyTag is associated with a person, it records all interactions with other SafetyTags. No location data is stored. Any contact events between SafetyTags is stored within Loop Cloud, BlueCats’ privacy protected database. In the event an employee becomes symptomatic or tests positive for COVID-19, the employer can instantly produce a contact report via BlueCats’ Loop Cloud platform. Within minutes, specific employees that were in close contact with the infected employee can be appropriately notified, quarantined, and tested anonymously instead of having to shut down an entire facility or sideline an entire shift, quelling concerns in the workplace and ensuring seamless operations.

“While vaccines are being distributed across the world, the harsh reality is not every employee is willing or able to be vaccinated,” Dunn continued. “Accurate and reliable contact tracing is a business necessity for many companies to create a safe workplace capable of accommodating vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.”

Related: Coolpad Partners With M2MD To Develop Innovative Social Distancing and Contact Tracing Solutions For Workplace

While the urgent need for contact tracing is most impactful during a pandemic, BlueCats’ UWB-based solution provides additional value when used for asset and personnel tracking, man-down, time on tool, and much more.

BlueCats CTS is currently being used by innovative food processors, major construction companies, and manufacturers globally as well as in major U.S. municipalities.

From crime and riot prevention to terrorism and catastrophes, today’s police force has to risk their lives to perform highly dangerous tasks. Faced with these extraordinary challenges, law enforcement agencies are turning to wearable devices to protect themselves, improve the efficiency of operations, while maintaining public safety at the same time.

Read more CommandWear Wearable Technology Helps Save Lives While Also Keeping First Responders Safe

IoT wearable devices are now becoming a part of smart law enforcement solutions that can combat crime, reports Fibicom.

Fibocom offers high-performance and cost-effective wireless communication solutions to facilitate data transmission and communication during law enforcement through its LTE Cat 1 Module L610.

Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Module L610 is an industrial-grade LTE Cat.1 module with maximum speed up to 10Mbps. What makes it more attractive is its high-performance capability compared with its affordability due to UNISOC’s good offer. It supports FDD-LTE/TDD-LTE/GSM long-distance communication and WiFi SCAN/Bluetooth short-range wireless transmission. Fibocom L610 has rich interfaces including UART/SPI/I2C/USB. Built-in LBS, Codec, supports TTS, recording, and VoLTE.

Body-Worn Camera cameras transmit real-time video through a high-speed LTE network, allowing law-enforcement personnel to share them with their headquarters. This allows commanders to better understand the situation and implement appropriate strategies.

Push-to-talk over Cellular (PPToC) is a popular method of communication among law enforcement personnel. PPToC combines the functionality of radio and smartphone technology in one device. It can be used nationwide and enables users to have one-to-many and one-to-one communication from their smartphone. PPToC uses the existing LTE cellular network and does not need any additional infrastructure to cover larger areas. The PPToC devices can be easily connected to the cloud and managed through the central system or by smartphone apps.

Read more How Wearables and IoT Can Help First Responders During an Emergency

Fibocom’s LTE Cat 1 Module L610 supports LTE, GSM dual-mode communication, VoLTE, audio, camera, LCD, keypad, and other functions. Formed as both LCC+LGA and MiniPCIe packages, it provides universal interfaces such as USB / UART / SPI / I2C / SDIO to meet various application demands of the IoT industry. The product positioning covers the Internet of things market with medium and low rates, such as pan payment, sharing, industrial interconnection, tracking, in-vehicle applications and other application scenarios. Provide perfect high-speed experience for customers in the above fields.

Virtual reality (VR) could play a key role in COVID-19 rehabilitation, according to a paper published in BMJ Open Sport Exercise Medicine.

Read more AR, VR And Other Immersive Technologies Could Be The Future Of Digital Health

A new challenge in treating COVID-19 patients is Post-Intensive Care Syndrome after coronavirus infection, or PICS-COV. Many critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to the researchers, continue to have Post-Intensive Care Syndrome, even after the infection is gone, leaving a potential risk for physical, psychological and cognitive impairment.

A subset of COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) frequently required several weeks of such intensive care; furthermore, traditional PICS preventive measures, such as reduction of environmental stressors, early mobility or writing an ICU diary, are virtually impossible due to infection control precautions, prone positioning and deprivation of social contact. Consequently, COVID-19 patients potentially have a substantial need for physical, psychological and cognitive rehabilitation after discharge from the ICU and the hospital.3 In the present viewpoint, we discuss how Virtual Reality (VR) can provide rehabilitation to post-COVID-19 patients.

VR consists of a head-mounted display (HMD) that can bring the user by computer-generated visuals into an immersive, realistic multi-sensory environment.

Several studies suggest that VR can be beneficial in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Researchers believe the immersive experience of VR may increase therapy adherence among patients and distract them from experienced fatigue and anxiety.

Read more XRHealth Launches First Virtual Reality Telehealth Clinic

“We believe that VR therapy offers an opportunity for recovering COVID-19 patients and care providers to partake in efficient home-based and individualized rehabilitation, monitored at a distance. Several barriers for implementation will need to be overcome, including designing an appropriate, safe, easy-to-use and cost-effective VR toolkit, organizing home-based VR therapy and support at a distance, and reimbursement. Embedding VR in virtual care platforms would assist in overcoming these barriers and stimulating the spread of VR therapy, both for post-COVID-19 patients in the present and possibly for other patients with similar rehabilitation needs in the future,” the researchers concluded.

Virtual reality (VR) could play a key role in COVID-19 rehabilitation, according to a paper published in BMJ Open Sport Exercise Medicine.

Read more: AR, VR And Other Immersive Technologies Could Be The Future Of Digital Health

A new challenge in treating COVID-19 patients is Post-Intensive Care Syndrome after coronavirus infection, or PICS-COV. Many critically ill COVID-19 patients, according to the researchers, continue to have Post-Intensive Care Syndrome, even after the infection is gone, leaving a potential risk for physical, psychological and cognitive impairment.

A subset of COVID-19 patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) frequently required several weeks of such intensive care; furthermore, traditional PICS preventive measures, such as reduction of environmental stressors, early mobility or writing an ICU diary, are virtually impossible due to infection control precautions, prone positioning and deprivation of social contact. Consequently, COVID-19 patients potentially have a substantial need for physical, psychological and cognitive rehabilitation after discharge from the ICU and the hospital.3 In the present viewpoint, we discuss how Virtual Reality (VR) can provide rehabilitation to post-COVID-19 patients.

VR consists of a head-mounted display (HMD) that can bring the user by computer-generated visuals into an immersive, realistic multi-sensory environment.

Several studies suggest that VR can be beneficial in post-COVID-19 rehabilitation. Researchers believe the immersive experience of VR may increase therapy adherence among patients and distract them from experienced fatigue and anxiety.

Read more: XRHealth Launches First Virtual Reality Telehealth Clinic

“We believe that VR therapy offers an opportunity for recovering COVID-19 patients and care providers to partake in efficient home-based and individualized rehabilitation, monitored at a distance. Several barriers for implementation will need to be overcome, including designing an appropriate, safe, easy-to-use and cost-effective VR toolkit, organizing home-based VR therapy and support at a distance, and reimbursement. Embedding VR in virtual care platforms would assist in overcoming these barriers and stimulating the spread of VR therapy, both for post-COVID-19 patients in the present and possibly for other patients with similar rehabilitation needs in the future,” the researchers concluded.

From crime and riot prevention to terrorism and catastrophes, today’s police force has to risk their lives to perform highly dangerous tasks. Faced with these extraordinary challenges, law enforcement agencies are turning to wearable devices to protect themselves, improve the efficiency of operations, while maintaining public safety at the same time.

Read more: CommandWear Wearable Technology Helps Save Lives While Also Keeping First Responders Safe

IoT wearable devices are now becoming a part of smart law enforcement solutions that can combat crime, reports Fibicom.

Fibocom offers high-performance and cost-effective wireless communication solutions to facilitate data transmission and communication during law enforcement through its LTE Cat 1 Module L610.

Fibocom LTE Cat 1 Module L610 is an industrial-grade LTE Cat.1 module with maximum speed up to 10Mbps. What makes it more attractive is its high-performance capability compared with its affordability due to UNISOC's good offer. It supports FDD-LTE/TDD-LTE/GSM long-distance communication and WiFi SCAN/Bluetooth short-range wireless transmission. Fibocom L610 has rich interfaces including UART/SPI/I2C/USB. Built-in LBS, Codec, supports TTS, recording, and VoLTE.

Body-Worn Camera cameras transmit real-time video through a high-speed LTE network, allowing law-enforcement personnel to share them with their headquarters. This allows commanders to better understand the situation and implement appropriate strategies.

Push-to-talk over Cellular (PPToC) is a popular method of communication among law enforcement personnel. PPToC combines the functionality of radio and smartphone technology in one device. It can be used nationwide and enables users to have one-to-many and one-to-one communication from their smartphone. PPToC uses the existing LTE cellular network and does not need any additional infrastructure to cover larger areas. The PPToC devices can be easily connected to the cloud and managed through the central system or by smartphone apps.

Read more: How Wearables and IoT Can Help First Responders During an Emergency

Fibocom’s LTE Cat 1 Module L610 supports LTE, GSM dual-mode communication, VoLTE, audio, camera, LCD, keypad, and other functions. Formed as both LCC+LGA and MiniPCIe packages, it provides universal interfaces such as USB / UART / SPI / I2C / SDIO to meet various application demands of the IoT industry. The product positioning covers the Internet of things market with medium and low rates, such as pan payment, sharing, industrial interconnection, tracking, in-vehicle applications and other application scenarios. Provide perfect high-speed experience for customers in the above fields.

A stretchable system that can harvest energy from human breathing and motion for use in wearable health-monitoring devices may be possible, according to an international team of researchers, led by Huanyu “Larry” Cheng, Dorothy Quiggle Career Development Professor in Penn State’s Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics.

The research team, with members from Penn State and Minjiang University and Nanjing University, both in China, recently published its results in Nano Energy, reports Penn State News.

According to Cheng, current versions of batteries and supercapacitors powering wearable and stretchable health-monitoring and diagnostic devices have many shortcomings, including low energy density and limited stretchability.

“This is something quite different than what we have worked on before, but it is a vital part of the equation,” Cheng said, noting that his research group and collaborators tend to focus on developing the sensors in wearable devices. “While working on gas sensors and other wearable devices, we always need to combine these devices with a battery for powering. Using micro-supercapacitors gives us the ability to self-power the sensor without the need for a battery.”

Read more Researchers Develop Wearable Textile That Harnesses Solar Energy And Converts Them Into Electrical Energy

An alternative to batteries, micro-supercapacitors are energy storage devices that can complement or replace lithium-ion batteries in wearable devices. Micro-supercapacitors have a small footprint, high power density, and the ability to charge and discharge quickly. However, according to Cheng, when fabricated for wearable devices, conventional micro-supercapacitors have a “sandwich-like” stacked geometry that displays poor flexibility, long ion diffusion distances and a complex integration process when combined with wearable electronics.

This led Cheng and his team to explore alternative device architectures and integration processes to advance the use of micro-supercapacitors in wearable devices. They found that arranging micro-supercapacitor cells in a serpentine, island-bridge layout allows the configuration to stretch and bend at the bridges, while reducing deformation of the micro-supercapacitors — the islands. When combined, the structure becomes what the researchers refer to as “micro-supercapacitors arrays.”

“By using an island-bridge design when connecting cells, the micro-supercapacitor arrays displayed increased stretchability and allowed for adjustable voltage outputs,” Cheng said. “This allows the system to be reversibly stretched up to 100%.”

By using non-layered, ultrathin zinc-phosphorus nanosheets and 3D laser-induced graphene foam — a highly porous, self-heating nanomaterial — to construct the island-bridge design of the cells, Cheng and his team saw drastic improvements in electric conductivity and the number of absorbed charged ions. This proved that these micro-supercapacitor arrays can charge and discharge efficiently and store the energy needed to power a wearable device.

The researchers also integrated the system with a triboelectric nanogenerator, an emerging technology that converts mechanical movement to electrical energy. This combination created a self-powered system.

“When we have this wireless charging module that’s based on the triboelectric nanogenerator, we can harvest energy based on motion, such as bending your elbow or breathing and speaking,” Cheng said. “We are able to use these everyday human motions to charge the micro-supercapacitors.”

By combining this integrated system with a graphene-based strain sensor, the energy-storing micro-supercapacitor arrays — charged by the triboelectric nanogenerators — are able to power the sensor, Cheng said, showing the potential for this system to power wearable, stretchable devices.

Read more Energy Harvesting Nanogenerators Offer New Option For Monitoring Health

Other researchers on this project were Cheng Zeng, assistant professor; Zhixiang Peng, research assistant; Chao Xing, associate professor; Huaming Chen, associate professor; Chunlei Huang, assistant professor, and Jun Wang, professor, all at Minjiang University; Bingwen Zhang, assistant professor at the Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional Marine Sensing Materials at Minjiang University; and Shaolong Tang, professor of physics, Nanjing University.