Ensuring military health readiness with wearable diagnostics

The Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure (RATE) project is the first large-scale, empirical exploration of predictive capabilities for pre-symptomatic infection in humans. While it was originally based on clinical data from instances of hospital-acquired infections, the project was modified to help detect SAR-CoV-2 infections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The RATE algorithm was trained with massive health data sets from 11,000 individuals, assessing a combination of vital signs and 165 different biomarkers. Participants were outfitted with devices such as watches and rings that assess their biometrics, comparing them to the data set to generate a RATE Wellness score.

The results are nothing short of a breakthrough: RATE was able to accurately predict the likelihood of infection 48 hours before symptom onset, with some predictions reaching up to 6 days prior to onset, including asymptomatic cases. For comparison, this level of predictive performance surpasses blood-based breast and prostate cancer screening tests.

The success of this early warning system reduced individual downtime and aided in the rapid containment of communicable diseases by isolating exposed soldiers sooner. It’s non-invasive nature and use of commercially available wearables makes it an accessible solution for both patients and healthcare providers.

As Philips continues to advance what the algorithm can do, the project is planned to become device agnostic, expanding its use to even more popular wearables. In addition, the algorithm can be further applied in civilian settings to help to monitor hospital patients for infection prior to observable symptoms. In the short term, additional funding from the federal government has expanded the RATE project to nearly 5,000 more participants in new cohorts across DoD, including Air Combat Command’s First Sergeants. Together, Philips and the DoD are changing the possibilities of healthcare for the modern warfighter.