The NBA is using smart technology to keep players safe when the league returns from a 3-month coronavirus hiatus in July.
NBA players will wear a “smart ring” that detects symptoms of COVID-19 up to three days in advance.
According to CNBC, players will wear the new “Oura Smart Ring” that is capable of detecting COVID-19 symptoms up to 3 days in advance with 90% accuracy.
Wearing the ring is not mandatory. Some players, including Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving, have suggested they may not play when the NBA returns in July.
The ring can monitor body temperature, respiratory rate, and heart rate, according to the manufacturer.
The Oura Ring was originally designed as a sleep tracker, but Oura Health, the company that manufactures the ring, soon find out the metrics could help detect coronavirus symptoms by monitoring the body temperature and other metrics.
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The Oura smart ring is capable of predicting COVID-19 symptoms up to 3 days in advance with 90% accuracy. The ring can measure body
temperature, respiratory functions and heart rate. pic.twitter.com/pYYIqOLDbZ— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) June 18, 2020
According to a study by the University of California, San Francisco,2,000 medical workers wore the Oura Ring and completed daily surveys.
The study’s objective was to monitor “the onset of symptoms such as fever, cough, and fatigue, which can characterize COVID-19,” according to the UCSF.
The study’s results were incomplete by the time the Oura Rings were purchased by the NBA.
West Virginia Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute conducted a similar study that found the Oura Ring was 90% accurate in predicting COVID-19.
But the study was carried out in conjunction with Oura Health, which raised the suspicion of a conflict of interest.
The Oura Ring is on sale for $299 on the company website and Amazon.com.
