Chronic fatigue syndrome

2021: Announcement of a wearable device with smartphone control to combat chronic fatigue

In mid-July 2021, researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Catalonia (Spain) developed a system for monitoring the severity of myalgic encephalomyelitis, also known as chronic fatigue syndrome. The system includes a breaststrap sensor that measures heart rate variability, and an appropriate application that collects, correlates and presents this data, allowing patients to monitor their condition and share information with the attending physician.

Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is a debilitating condition characterized by severe fatigue that interferes with everyday activities. The prevalence of ME is expected to increase dramatically in the coming years as this syndrome is part of the sequelae of long-term COVID-19 infection. This condition does not have diagnostic biomarkers or effective treatments, so the medical community welcomes any new methods to assess disease severity and track patient progress.

Presented device with smartphone control to combat chronic fatigue

The researchers found that heart rate variability, which is an indicator of autonomic nervous system function, correlates with ME severity.

In particular, we noticed that heart rate variability was lower in patients with ME, especially in the most disabling cases, "explained Dr. Jesús Castro, who was involved in the development of the new system. - In the study, we assessed the relationship between heart rate variability and ME, and looked at the usefulness of this score for patient follow-up.

The researchers used the technology to measure heart rate variability to assess hemodynamic characteristics in a group of volunteers with ME as well as in healthy individuals. The results showed that this technology is particularly sensitive to state change in women with ME. Given that this disease mainly affects women, such a scoring system can be quite useful in clinical practice.^[1]

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