The Importance of Smart Watches for Health during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic, often referred to as the Coronavirus pandemic, is a disease caused by the coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronavirus cases were first discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019. The virus was rapidly spreading that in January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) designated it as an International Public Health Emergency Problem. Because of its rapid spread, the WHO in March 2020 officially declared the coronavirus a pandemic. The meaning of the word pandemic itself refers to the spread of a disease which covers a large area (covid19.go.id). There is no direct correlation between the pandemic label given to the malignancy of a disease. Therefore, the public needs to respond wisely that a pandemic does not need to be overly feared, but followed up with vigilance and adherence to health protocols established by the government.

The symptoms shown by people exposed to the Corona virus are varied. As with other illnesses caused by viruses, such as flu, chicken pox, or dengue fever, people who show mild to moderate symptoms can recover without the need to be hospitalized. However, for people who are classified as high risk, namely the elderly group (60 years and over according to Law Number 13 of 1998) and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure, then the coronavirus must be addressed with caution. -heart. There are some common symptoms that may be the first signs of exposure to the coronavirus, including fever, dry cough and fatigue. Of course, these initial symptoms are almost the same as the symptoms of other diseases. However, in addition to the initial symptoms, there are also specific symptoms that indicate the possibility of our body being exposed to the coronavirus. These specific symptoms include sore throat, diarrhea, conjunctivitis (red eyes), headache, loss of taste or smell, to rash on the skin or discoloration of fingers or toes.

According to the WHO, the most serious symptom shown by people exposed to the coronavirus is difficulty breathing. In addition, KOMPAS states that shortness of breath can be associated with Covid-19 if it is followed by a sudden and rapid decrease in oxygen saturation (SPO2). According to MedKe.com, oxygen saturation in the blood is the ratio of the ratio between the amount of hemoglobin that contains oxygen and those that do not. One way to measure the SPO2 level in the blood is by pulse oximetry. Pulse-oximetry is a method that is said to be indirect because it does not introduce instruments into the body. The way this is done is by emitting infrared light to the fingertips and absorbing light waves that pass through the blood vessels (capillaries). Variations in blood color due to light waves will provide a measurement value for SPO2.

The tool commonly used to measure SPO2 levels is the pulse oximeter. These tools can be found in various online stores and are sold at prices starting from IDR 45,000  up to IDR 200,000. In addition, SPO2 measurements can also be done using smart watches such as the Huawei Honor Band 5 or Apple Watch Series 6. Both of these smart watches have an SPO2 measuring sensor embedded directly in them. In addition, the features offered are a heart rate meter, electrocardiogram (ECG), ultraviolet radiation, noise levels, and so on. Of course, with the increasing number of features and application support available, the price of these smart watches will be even more expensive. However, this shows that smartwatches have evolved from simply showing the time, being a signpost, or just for listening to music to becoming a very important health monitoring tool.