Redefining standard fatigue assessments through novel digital biomarkers

The main goal of this project was to improve the existing data collection infrastructure to gather the data needed for objective fatigue measurement. In particular, we concentrated on the smartphone application. The app administers questionnaires to the patients, collects contextual data like food habits and symptom severity, and serves as a tool to gather Apple Health data for iOS users. Because it is intended for long-term continuous monitoring of chronic diseases, such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or long COVID, we decided to invest more effort in its design and features. Hence, we collaborated with a UX/UI expert and performed several workshops to test prototypes. After our initial assessment, it became clear that we needed to re-implement a new application from scratch, as our existing version was outdated and only compatible with the Android operating system. Hence, we programmed a cross-platform app with all the functionalities we need for future studies and partnerships. The project resulted in a fully functional app that we look forward to using in our upcoming clinical trial starting mid-April 2025. After finishing the implementation, we had testing sessions with MS and long COVID patient experts, and we discussed it with the clinicians involved in the next steps. In the final phase of the project, we also adapted the rest of our infrastructure (wearables, dashboards, backend) to work seamlessly with the new app. Overall, we significantly advanced our project toward a successful implementation in practice.