Wearable monitoring to track recovery after heart and lung surgery
Using Wearable Technology to Assess Recovery and Detect Post-Operative Complications Following Cardiothoracic Surgery
This project will use wearable devices and smart algorithms to spot early signs of problems after heart or lung surgery for patients recovering at home.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11127704 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would wear a small tracker or smartwatch after your heart or lung operation that collects heart rate, activity, sleep, and other biometric signals. The research team applies machine-learning algorithms to those continuous data to look for patterns that suggest complications before you feel symptoms. Data are collected at home and monitored so clinicians could be alerted if concerning changes appear. The approach builds on pilot work that used wearables to detect illnesses like Lyme disease and COVID-19 and adapts it to monitor post-operative recovery.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults having cardiothoracic (heart or lung) surgery who will be discharged home and are willing to wear a device and share their data.
Not a fit: Patients who are not having heart or lung surgery, are discharged to long-term care rather than home, or are unable or unwilling to use wearable devices or smartphone-based monitoring may not benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could catch complications earlier, reduce readmissions, and help patients recover more safely at home.
How similar studies have performed: Previous pilot studies showed success detecting Lyme disease and COVID-19 with similar wearable-based algorithms, but using this approach for post-operative complication detection is still being tested.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Yang, Chi-Fu — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Yang, Chi-Fu
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.