Measuring Fatigue With a Phone App and Wearables in Long COVID and Multiple Sclerosis
Tests phone and wearable measures of fatigue in people with long COVID or multiple sclerosis.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Fatigue Investigation Using Digital Outcomes
Key facts
- Where
- Basel and Zurich, SwitzerlandSee the 6 sites
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Source: NCT07783074, who can take part
Where in Switzerland
- Neurozentrum Basel MesseturmBasel, SwitzerlandTaking people
- Bellevue Medical Group - Neurozentrum SeefeldZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
- Bellevue Medical Group - Neurozentrum Sternen / Neurozentrum BellevueZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
- Klinik Lengg AGZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
- NeuroPraxis Zürich GmbHZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
- University of ZurichZurich, SwitzerlandTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Liliana Barrios
- Trial code
- NCT07783074
- Record updated
- 24 August 2026
- Original description
This study investigates objective methods to measure and monitor fatigue in patients with post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) and multiple sclerosis (MS), and includes a group of healthy volunteers for comparison. Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom of both conditions, but current assessment methods rely mainly on questionnaires, which can be limited by subjectivity and recall bias. The study uses a smartphone application (the FIDO app) together with wearable devices to continuously collect data on fatigue and its fluctuations during daily life, in order to evaluate the potential of digital, objective measures compared to standard assessments.Read full original descriptionShow less
Fatigue Investigation Using Digital Outcomes (FIDO) - An Exploratory Project
This study investigates objective methods to measure and monitor fatigue in patients with post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) and multiple sclerosis (MS), and includes a group of healthy volunteers for comparison. Fatigue is a common and debilitating symptom of both conditions, but current assessment methods rely mainly on questionnaires, which can be limited by subjectivity and recall bias. The study uses a smartphone application (the FIDO app) together with wearable devices to continuously collect data on fatigue and its fluctuations during daily life, in order to evaluate the potential of digital, objective measures compared to standard assessments.
Participation lasts approximately eight weeks and includes two in-person clinic visits along with a continuous data collection phase. At the initial visit, participants complete baseline assessments and questionnaires and are introduced to the study's digital tools. During the following weeks, participants wear two wearable devices continuously (24 hours a day) and use the FIDO app to complete short daily tasks (approximately 7 minutes every two days) and brief questionnaires (approximately 5 minutes per day). All participants collect a stool sample at home at weeks 4 and 8 for gut microbiome analysis, and complete the Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Functions at week 4. At the final study visit, participants repeat a subset of the baseline assessments, provide feedback on the digital technology used, and return the study devices.
Inclusion: Confirmed diagnosis of MS (by neurologist) or Long COVID (by medical doctor); Smartphone ownership; Provide written informed consent; Fluent in German or English; Smartphone ownership; Provide written informed consent; Fluent in German or English.
Exclusion: Concomitant medication affecting fatigue or ANS such as antidepressants prescribed or adjusted 1 month before the initial visit; For long COVID: Additional comorbidities diagnosed prior to the first acute COVID-19 infection that may affect fatigue or ANS such as autoimmune disease and cardiovascular disease; For controls: Diagnosis of any chronic disorders or diseases that may affect fatigue or ANS; For MS: Additional comorbidities that may affect fatigue or ANS such as autoimmune disease and cardiovascular disease; Unable to provide informed consent; Unwilling or unable to comply with the study protocol; Pregnancy or lactation.