NBA players can use Oura Ring to detect Covid-19 symptoms when season starts
The ring can detect Covid-19 symptoms three days in advance
The NBA plans to offer players the option to wear an Oura Ring that detects Covid-19 three days prior to symptoms. The ring uses heart rate, temperature, and sleeping pattern data to determine if a wearer has a high “illness probability score.” Players will have the option to wear the ring when the season starts in Orlando Florida.
The ring’s capability to detect Corona-virus symptoms three days before symptoms seems legitimate. The West Virginia University's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute determined:
“The Oura Ring… can predict the onset of COVID-19 related symptoms (e.g. fevers, coughing, breathing difficulties, fatigue, and others) three days in advance with over 90 percent accuracy.”
Courtesy: Marco Verch
On sale since early 2018, over 150,000 rings have been sold. Rising to popularity in 2018, Oura’s influencer marketing strategy paid off as Prince Harry was spotted wearing the ring on a trip to New Zealand and Australia. Already being used by NBA players such as Kevin Love, the ring’s entry into the league would likely be welcomed.
Here’s how it would work:
Wearing the ring will be optional.
Data would be private except in the case of high “illness probability score”
Ring data will be used by the medical team to exempt players from games with no salary docked.
Team staff will *not* have any access to player data from the wearable ring (should any player actually choose to wear it) aside from instances in which the "illness probability score" triggers a further medical review. https://t.co/q7nk1cBzIa
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) June 17, 2020
Conclusion
This is the biggest opportunity Oura Health has had to prove their ring’s usefulness. As the company moves later into 2020 with its most recent 28 million dollars Series B funding round, a website redesign offering an online portal and more collaboration with researchers is planned. The health company seems to be moving into proven sales and contracts, starting with the NBA’s adoption of the product.
As 22 teams of players and staff enter the Orlando Walt Disney World Complex, the Oura Ring seems like a great way to track the spread of Covid-19 within the Orlando “bubble.” It remains unseen how significant an impact the ring will have to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (or other common illnesses) within a closed complex.
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