Garmin International, Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., announced a collaboration with Fitabase that will enable researchers to access data from Garmin wearables via the Fitabase platform, providing curated data sets ideal for deep analysis.
Fitabase, a San Diego-based company founded by a team of research experts, has worked with over 150 academic and clinical institutions worldwide on over 500 studies with one singular goal: better research, better results. The Fitabase platform makes it easy to deploy the latest digital health tools and further the collective knowledge of the scientific community.
“Fitabase is excited to collaborate with Garmin, a leader in the wearables industry,” said Aaron Coleman, Fitabase CEO. “Garmin offers wearable devices with great battery life and water resistance as well as high-quality data streams for researchers to analyze and integrate into their experiments.”
“Garmin is excited to work with an innovative company like Fitabase that’s focused on accelerating digital health research that will ultimately lead to the improvement of health outcomes and reduce costs for patients,” said Travis Johnson, Garmin Heath global product lead. “The integration of the Garmin Health API with Fitabase is a great example of our commitment to provide a great user experience for participants involved in these studies and therefore better results through increased program adherence.”
Signe de Place Knudsen, a PhD Fellow in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Copenhagen University, is using Garmin devices connected to the Fitabase platform to capture and analyze data. She and her team are studying how physical activity during pregnancy affects maternal and child health. “We are incredibly excited to work with Fitabase and Garmin to capture novel endpoints for our project aimed at improving the health of mothers and children. Using friendly consumer devices paired with powerful research tools will make a significant impact on supporting the needs of our research,” said Knudsen.
Researchers in the past have often been forced to rely on self-reported, subjective metrics that are inherently biased. “Much of today’s research is based on episodic health data or patient memories,” Johnson said. “The objective is that continuous data from Garmin wearables provides researchers a comprehensive window into activity, heart rate, sleep and even pulse ox data that may help to better understand the relationship between lifestyle behaviors and health outcomes.”
