Research using artificial intelligence is helping to find better ways of managing and treating fatigue.
A team, led by the University of Aberdeen, will look in depth at fatigue patterns in different people and is working with about 40 men and women who have fatigue related to long COVID, myeloma, heart failure, plus individuals who do not suffer from one of those conditions and do not experience problematic fatigue.
Those taking part will wear a sensor on their wrist, which will measure their activity levels, posture and sleep, and will be given movement sensors to keep in their home. Each participant will also wear an ECG patch in the first seven days of the study.
Dr Rosalind Adam, senior clinical lecturer in academic primary care and lead researcher, said: “Most of us experience tiredness from time to time, caused by things like not getting enough sleep or feeling stressed, but it can also be a symptom of a wide range of medical conditions.
“It can be difficult for doctors to tell when problematic fatigue is typical of normal tiredness because of lifestyle or if there is an underlying medical condition. Blood tests are not always helpful.
“What is exciting about this study is that it combines experts from six different universities with backgrounds in Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Human-Computing Interaction, Psychology, and Clinical (general practice). The sensors are novel too and will allow us to study fatigue patterns in different people in detail.
“Treatment options for fatigue are limited. We hope this study will help us understand fatigue better and will identify patterns of fatigue in different people. We hope that this will help us find better ways of managing and treating fatigue in the future.
“We are working with volunteers with heart failure, long COVID, and myeloma who are experiencing problematic fatigue. We are also working with people who have not had any of those conditions and do not have problematic fatigue.”
Leave a Reply