The Best Digital Biomarkers Papers of 2017

Abstract

The use and evaluation of digital biomarkers, objective and quantifiable measures of biology, and health collected through digital devices is growing rapidly. To highlight some of the most promising work in the field, we have compiled a list of the top digital biomarkers papers from the past year. Eligible papers reported on original research that evaluated a digital sensor (e.g., smartphone, wearable sensor, implantable device) in humans and was published in a peer-reviewed journal in 2017. Nominations were solicited from the editorial board of Digital Biomarkers and supplemented by papers the editorial team identified from Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed. The editorial board then selected up to ten papers to be recognized among 28 nominations. Here, we present all of the nominated papers and profile the eight that received the most votes. The top eight papers evaluated 1,290 individuals with digital pills, smartwatches, wearable devices, and electronic inhalers in disease states ranging from dementia to diabetes and from Parkinson disease to pain.

Sex and gender differences and biases in artificial intelligence for biomedicine and healthcare

“…In some cases the analysis of sex differences on digital biomarkers is prevented by undesired biases in the datasets used by the models that provide the health indicators. For instance, current studies that test digital biomarkers are often performed with small sample sizes in the range of tens to hundreds of subjects and tend to show insufficient demographic information on sex and gender 46 . For example, in a study assessing digital biomarkers for Parkinson's disease (PD), only 18.6% were women 47 .…”

Continuous Monitoring Using a Wearable Device Detects Activity‐Induced Heart Rate Changes After Administration of Amphetamine

“…Although Holter ECG monitoring has been used for continuous data collection and clinical trials, this method is deployed only for limited periods of time and the data are available only after the completion of the data collection. Arrhythmia detection via a single lead ECG device has convenience advantages relative to conventional Holter monitoring, as has been described . Additionally, a comparison of the BodyGuardian device data to an independent device data, such as Holter, would help to facilitate the decision‐making process around the choice of the device.…”

“…Despite significant progress, there are few published studies that include critical analysis of the technology at either the device or data‐processing level. Some reports suggest that devices that collect vital sign (VS) data did not perform as the researchers had planned, requiring extensive manual review of data and time‐consuming investigation of device‐derived data artifacts …”

Women's Leadership via Digital Technology and Entrepreneurship in business and society

“…Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications can serve as a means to address the need for gender equality in the field of Precision Medicine and especially, in the formation of the prediction models of a certain disease, encapsulating sufficient demographic information on every sex and every gender. Therefore, Precision Medicine encompasses unbiased prevention and diagnosis of disease as well as more effective treatment monitoring [12], [13].…”