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Garmin Wearable Devices

Garmin wearables are considered ideal devices for recording digital biomarkers in health and clinical research. They are popular among consumers and therefore can increase participant retention, and also their devices provide a wide range of sensors and physiological metrics. Most importantly, unlike some widely-known competitors, they are very supportive in helping health research and clinical trials by providing necessary SDK and API to access the detailed data.

At Avicenna, we support all Garmin wearables. You can integrate them into your study with just a few clicks and start collecting data from any of their sensors or calculated metrics. In this section we will cover:

  • The health features that Garmin devices offer,
  • The types of data that they collect, and
  • The Garmin Connect app.

Garmin Health Features​

Aside from the hardware-based sensors, Garmin devices come with many health and wellness monitoring features (or calculated metrics). These features can help the end user improve and monitor their health. These features include:

  • Body Battery: This feature is designed to help manage body’s resources throughout the day. It provides metric to determine when is the best time for physical activities. It also shows the user how relaxation, exercise, and stress impact the state of the body.
  • Stress Tracking: The all-day stress tracking feature manages and tracks the stress levels throughout the day. It can also warn the user when the stress level is unusually high.
  • Sleep Tracking: This feature monitors the quantity and quality of the sleep patterns, such as sleep times and sleep stages.
  • Heart Rate Monitoring monitors and analyzes the heart rate.
  • Pulse Oxygen Sensor measures how much oxygen is in the blood during waking and sleeping hours.
  • Calories Tracking helps tracking the calories that the body burns during the day.
  • Hydration Tracking: Based on the user's gender, this feature sets a default daily hydration goal and allows tracking the progress towards that goal.
  • Workout Modes: Garmin offers a wide range of workout modes through its Garmin Connect app.
  • Fitness Age estimates user's overall fitness compared to his or her actual age.

The Data that Garmin Devices Collect​

Garmin devices collect two types of data:

  • Personal Data: To create and sign in to your account, Garmin asks for your personal data such as your name, email address, and your location. They also use this information to send you personalized support and safety information related to your Garmin devices.
  • Body-Related Data: They collect a variety of body-related data, including your heart rate, stress, sleep patterns, pulse OX, and physical activities.

Garmin Connect​

According to Garmin, Garmin Connect is:

The tool for tracking, analyzing, and sharing health and fitness activities from your Garmin device.

It’s basically the name of the Garmin’s app which users should use to interact with the data from their wearable device. The app offers further features, including:

  • Detailed Health Data: The app provides you with detailed information about your health and performance stats, activities, and training. You can also track your sleep, heart rate, stress level, and other health data.
  • Join Challenges: The app leverages gamification techniques such as physical activity challenges to motivate you to be more active. These challenges include walking, hiking, biking, and also the weekly steps challenge.
  • Social Components: Through its News Feed, the Garmin Connect adds a social dimension to the physical activities and exercises.