Can wearables decode the mystery of fatigue?

NCT ID NCT05622669

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed This study
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

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Status unknown
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First seen Aug 31, 2026 · Last updated Sep 01, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are using wearable sensors and smartphone check-ins to track fatigue as it happens in people with myeloma, long COVID, heart failure, and healthy controls. Participants wear an ECG patch and a wrist sensor that measure heart rate, activity, and posture, and they rate their fatigue several times a day. The study aims to understand how fatigue fluctuates and what physical signals might accompany it, which could lead to better ways to measure and manage this common symptom.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Wearable sensors (ECG patch and wrist-worn device) and self-reported fatigue ratings, with no drug or behavioral intervention
What this could lead to
If this works, it could reveal distinct fatigue patterns across conditions and point toward better ways to measure and manage fatigue in daily life.
What could go wrong
This is a small observational study, so findings may not apply broadly. Wearable data and self-reports can be noisy, and the study does not test any treatment.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Participants

40 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Dec 2021

Finished

Jan 2025

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Who is studied

Participants will be selected from the community and from hospital haematology and cardiology clinics

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * For all groups, participants will be included if they are willing to participate in intermittent ecological momentary assessments of fatigue, to wear an ECG patch, to provide questionnaire responses at baseline, and the end of the study, and to participate in an end of study interview. Inclusion Criteria for Group A, individuals with myeloma * A confirmed diagnosis of myeloma * Has experienced fatigue that is perceived by the participant to be worse than "normal tiredness" and that they associate with myeloma or treatment for myeloma Inclusion Criteria for Group B, heart failure * A formal diagnosis of heart failure * All stages of heart failure and all aetiologies and with no specific ejection fraction cut-off * Has experienced fatigue that is perceived by the participant to be worse than "normal tiredness" and that they associate with their cardiac disease or its treatment Inclusion Criteria for Group C, long COVID * Experiencing fatigue that is perceived by the participant to be worse than "normal tiredness", with or without other physical or psychological symptoms that developed during or after an infection consistent with COVID-19 * The fatigue (plus or minus any other symptoms) has continued for greater or equal to 12 weeks, and is not explained by an alternative diagnosis Inclusion criteria for Group D, control group • Individuals aged 18 years or over without the disease conditions specified in Groups A to C Exclusion Criteria: * Exclusion Criteria Applying to all participants: * Difficulty communicating in English * Adults lacking capacity to consent * Under 18 years of age * Declines to participate * Under investigation for or starting treatment for an endocrine, metabolic, or thyroid condition where the participant has not been established on a stable therapeutic dose of a licensed therapy for that condition * A confirmed diagnosis of sleep apnoea or narcolepsy * HADs depression and anxiety score at baseline greater than 8 on the depression questions, which might indicate untreated or undertreated depression * Shift work that involves overnight working between the hours of 9pm and 9am We will not exclude patient participants in groups A to C based on the type of prescribed medications that they are taking. Instead, this will be carefully documented. For Group A, myeloma * Uncontrolled hypercalcaemia * Current or previous diagnosis of heart failure or long COVID * An active primary cancer diagnosis other than myeloma Group B Heart Failure * A current or previous diagnosis of myeloma or long COVID * Active cancer Group C, long COVID * A current or previous diagnosis of myeloma or heart failure * Active cancer Group D, Control group * Presence of myeloma or another active cancer, heart failure, or long COVID * One or more chronic medical conditions which are unstable, poorly controlled, AND perceived by the individual to be causing fatigue * Persistent or severe fatigue symptoms that are perceived by the individual to be worse than "normal tiredness" * Taking sedating medications to manage anxiety or insomnia including but not limited to benzodiazepines or "Z" drugs, zopiclone, zolpidem, and others in this British National Formulary Class.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • University of Aberdeen

    Aberdeen, UK, AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom

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