COVID-19 Change Challenge

Steven Kiyohiko Shiba, a medical student in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, was one of the Division of Research winners of the COVID-19 Change Challenge, an opportunity for FAU students to earn up to $2,000 to help implement their ideas on combatting COVID-19 related issues.

His project proposed developing predictive algorithms for Covid-19 infections in FAU health care by enrolling participants into two study groups while they wear the Oura ring, a smart ring that resembles a silver wedding band, which collects data with responses to daily symptom survey’s to predict the illness of Covid-19.

Q: Talk about the progress of your project.

A: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Change Challenge we have enrolled 47 participants into the study in two groups. The first group will be completing the study the first week of August and the second group will be finishing at the end of August. I have been involved in everything from the informed consent process to distributing the rings to constant communication with the participants and all of the accompanying documentation required for a research study. The participants all have access to their ring data using the Oura application on their smartphones, which allows them to monitor their own health throughout the study. We will begin data analysis and dissemination after both groups have completed the study.

Q. Any plans to continue development?

The project will continue after data collection. As the participants finish their last day on the study, we will complete several end of study tasks including collecting their Oura ring. We are also collaborating with the FAU Machine Perception & Cognitive Robotics Lab to perform the data analysis. After data analysis is complete, we will disseminate our findings.

To download Shiba's printable Q&A, click here.