The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency use authorization to a new COVID-19 detection system from Tiger Tech. The Tiger Tech COVID Plus Monitor is essentially a wearable blood flow monitor that analyzes pulse rate and other factors to watch for signs of hypercoagulation, which can lead to clotting and is a common symptom of COVID-19.
The decision came after Tiger Tech conducted several trials at a hospital and a homeless shelter in Miami, and at The Meadows School in Las Vegas. The latter is a private school that has implemented a rigorous testing regimen to allow students to return to full-time in-person classes during the pandemic.
The COVID Plus Monitor is a non-invasive armband that is wrapped around the upper arm. The device is able to reach a conclusion in less than five minutes, with a green light indicating that the individual is healthy and a red light indicating that the individual should get a COVID-19 test ahead of an official diagnosis.
According to the FDA, the Tiger Tech device has been highly accurate in its field trials, correctly identifying 98.6 percent of the positive COVID-19 cases in a pool of 467 asymptomatic individuals that had 69 confirmed positives. The system was similarly accurate for 94.5 percent of the negative cases. Those figures came from the hospital study, though the FDA indicated that the results are comparable to those obtained by The Meadows School.
For its part, Tiger Tech is hoping that the devices can help facilitate the safe return to public spaces, noting that its solution is both faster and highly convenient. The Meadows School also conducts weekly saliva tests, but uses the COVID Plus Monitors on a day-to-day basis to guarantee the health of its student athletes before games and practices.
“The goal is to get everyone back to their daily routines,” said Tiger Tech CEO Harrison Wittels. “We believe our device can play a major role in allowing this transition to happen quicker, and most importantly, safer.”
Several professional sports organizations have used the Oura Ring for similar purposes. The Seattle Mariners, the LPGA, and the NBA have all used the Ring to track the health of their players during the pandemic.
Source: Las Vegas Sun
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(Originally posted on FindBiometrics)
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