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Wearable fitness trackers can help doctors treat cancer patients
February 15, 2021USC
Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells by stopping them growing and multiplying, but they can also damage healthy cells. As a result, cancer patients can get sick sometimes very sick with complications ranging from pain and infection to dehydration and nausea. For doctors, getting the right balance between treatment intensity and side-effects can be hard. Now a digital-era solution is emerging. According to a paper lead-authored by USC computer science researchers, wearable activity trackers could be a useful tool to evaluate and help treat cancer patients.
After analyzing data gathered from a smartphone app and wristband worn by chemotherapy patients, the researchers linked lower activity levels to more unexpected health encounters, such as emergency room visits. As such, by tracking activity levels, wearables could help cancer patients receive the right treatment intensity, and act as a potenti