When it comes to gathering, the honeybee is perhaps the most tireless and focused animal on the planet. Perhaps that’s why it was chosen as the namesake for a program by researchers at Arizona State University. Project HoneyBee is a program intended to validate the data from wearable devices. Dr. Lee Hartwell of the ASU School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering has partnered with a variety of health systems, including the Mayo Clinic. The data collection efforts will include patients with a range of conditions, including heart disease, atrial fibrillation, and diabetes.
The project has even gone international, with Dublin City University (DCU) joining the effort. DCU is making Project HoneyBee a part of their MedEx Wellness Program that helps patients with chronic illnesses through specially designed and supervised exercise programs.
The HoneyBee trials currently test the results from 10 different devices, with the aim of gathering data that has practical value in providing cost-effective prevention and early intervention strategies that produce positive outcomes. The careful analysis of data from low-cost consumer wearable devices in clinical settings will be an important step in defining their utility for future projects.
