Fitbit Partners with NIH on 'All of Us' Research Program to Advance Personalized Health

VCBeat (WeChat: vcbeat) has learned from foreign media that wearable device company Fitbit and the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) have announced a partnership to launch the “All of Us” research program. The initiative aims to collect health data from one million Americans to accelerate and advance research in precision medicine.

Fitbit was founded on May 1, 2007, and is headquartered in California, United States. The company is dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles by tracking people’s daily activities through wireless wearable sensors. Fitbit boasts a passionate and dynamic team that believes pursuing health does not necessarily have to be a serious endeavor; rather, finding joy in the process makes achieving better health more likely.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a biomedical research agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1887 and headquartered in Maryland, USA, it conducts its own scientific research through the Intramural Research Program (IRP) while providing major biomedical research funding to non-NIH institutions through its Extramural Research Program. Notably, the NIH has achieved several scientific milestones, including the discovery of fluoride for preventing dental caries, the use of lithium for treating bipolar disorder, and the development of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and human papillomavirus (HPV).

As the first wearable device company to be included in the program, Fitbit users can now link their accounts to the program to help researchers better understand the relationship between health metrics such as physical activity, heart rate, and sleep, and broader health outcomes.

In addition to health metrics collected via Fitbit devices, the project also invites participants to share various health information, including electronic medical record (EMR) data, genomic information, biological samples, and physical measurement data.

“Real-time data collected through digital technologies will become a fundamental component of the program,” said Eric Dishman, Director of All of Us, in a statement. “Combined with many other types of data, this information will provide us with an unprecedented ability to better understand the impact of lifestyle and environment on health outcomes, ultimately helping us develop better strategies to keep people healthy in a highly precise and personalized manner.”

Wearable devices are receiving increasing attention from researchers, who are seeking passive methods to collect real-world longitudinal health data that are more consistent and accurate than self-reported metrics.

“For Fitbit users who choose to participate, the information they provide is invaluable, helping to pave the way for the future health of all humanity and further contributing to the cause of health,” emphasized Adam Pellegrini, General Manager and Senior Vice President at Fitbit. “Each day, we gain a deeper understanding of the potential of wearable device data to inform personalized healthcare. Through our collective efforts, the research community will better understand the role that wearable data can play in helping to prevent and treat diseases.”

It is reported that the NIH also announced a separate research collaboration with Fitbit, scheduled to launch later this year, which will provide 10,000 devices to diverse participant groups to further explore the link between health metrics and key health outcomes.