Wearable fitness device manufacturer Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) and the National Institute of Health have collaborated on a project aimed at advancing medical research.
Fitbit and NIH’s initiative dubbed Fitbit Bring-Your-Own-Device will be part of the All of Us Research Program. The project is part of the All of Us Research Program which is a precision medicine study that seeks to improve disease prevention and treatment based on influences such as genetics, environment, and lifestyle.
The initiative will collect user data from synchronized wearable devices
All of Us program was launched throughout the U.S in May last year with the hopes of getting at least 1 million participants on board. Fitbit will allow participants in the program to synchronize their Fitbit accounts so that they can share their health data with researchers. This will enable researchers to collect essential data that will help them understand the relationship between health outcomes and health indicators. Some of the indicators tracked using the wearable devices include sleep, heart rate, and physical activity.
The program will invite participants to share their health information through digital health technologies, biosamples, physical measurements, electronic health records, and surveys. Researchers will use the data in different health studies. Fitbit also noted that it would carry out strict measures to protect the privacy of participants in the study.
“Collecting real-world, real-time data through digital technologies will become a fundamental part of the program,” stated All of Us Research Program Eric Dishman.
Dishman added that the collected data combined with other types of data would allow researchers to have a better understanding of how the environment and lifestyle affect health. He added that it would also help the researchers to create better strategies that will help people achieve healthy living.
Fitbit continues to gain traction in the health sector
Fitbit has established itself as a leading fitness wearable device manufacturer in the U.S market and also in other markets. The Scripps Research Translational Institute selected Fitbit wearable devices for the All of Us program in 2018. So far Fitbit devices have been used in over 6,752 published studies. This means that the health community highly recognizes the company’s products.