Collecting Sensor Data

When creating a project, you have the option of selecting which pieces of passive sensor data you would like to collect via the MyDataHelps app. For a list of the sensor data services offered, see Sensor Data Services.

Enabling Sensor Data Collection

MyDataHelps integrates with several major data services—including Apple Health, Google Fit, and Fitbit—to collect sensor data from wearables and mobile apps. Many of these services have dozens of sensor data types available, including:

• Steps and activity
• Nutrition and weight
• Heart rate and other vital signs
• Health records

You can also collect geographic sensor data, including weather and air quality, from other third-party services.

For a quick tutorial on how to enable sensor data collection, check out this video or keep reading below.

You can select which data services you wish to engage for your project, and which specific sensor data types you wish to collect from each of them. You may use multiple services with multiple data types.

The project settings specify what data you have requested. The actual data collected for each participant may vary depending on device capabilities and permissions. See Sensor Collection Limitations for details.

To enable sensor data collection for your project:

1. Go to your project and select the "Sensor & EHR Data" tab from the sidebar.
2. Select a sensor data collection service (e.g., Apple Health, Google Fit, etc.).
3. Select one or more data types to collect from that service.
4. Click "Save Sensor & EHR Data Settings" to save your changes. You can also click "Revert Changes" to undo your changes.

Sharing Sensor Data from MyDataHelps

When the participant enrolls in a project, they will be prompted to enable sharing of the data types you have requested. The app will prompt the participant again if you enable different permissions.

If the participant declines to share some or all of their sensor data, it cannot be collected by MyDataHelps. It is not possible to distinguish whether a participant has declined to share data, or the data is simply unavailable due to app/device limitations.

You don't need to deliver surveys in order to collect sensor data. As long as the participant is enrolled in your project and has enabled the appropriate permissions, data is collected passively in the background—even when they are not using the app.

For more information about how participants can enable and change their permission settings, see Sharing Sensor Data from MyDataHelps.

Viewing and Using Sensor Data

Any sensor data you collect will be included in your project's data exports. See Using Exported Data for details about the specific files and the data contained in each.

Selected sensor data can also be examined in the participant viewer, as explained in Viewing Sensor Data.

Restricting Sensor Data Collection

Study teams can restrict which participants share sensor data for their project using segments.

For example, if a project has Fitbit data enabled, but the study team does not want to collect Fitbit data for all participants by default, the study team can create a "Sharing Fitbit" segment and restrict Fitbit data collection to only participants in that segment. If a participant moves out of the "Sharing Fitbit" segment, Fitbit data collection would no longer occur for that participant, but any past data would be retained.

To restrict sensor data collection for your project:

1. Create a segment that identifies participants that the study team wishes to collect sensor data from. This can be done using specific surveys (e.g., Fitbit Consent Survey has been completed by the participant) or using custom fields (e.g., custom field "Fitbit" is set to True). 
2. Navigate to the Sensor & EHR Data tab on the left-hand project menu.
3. Double-check that sensor data collection has been set up for your project and that the appropriate devices have been enabled.
4. Select the Sensor & EHR Segments in the "Advanced" section.
5. Under the sensor device type, select the sensor-related segment.
6. Remember to select "Save Sensor & EHR Data Settings".

Once you have completed this set up, you can navigate to the Participants tab in the left-hand menu and select the sensor-sharing segment to view participants that are prompted to share sensor data with your project.

Sensor Collection Limitations

The project settings specify which data services and sensor data types you have requested from each participant. The actual data collected will depend on a number of factors, including device capabilities, permissions, and participant demographics.

The table below gives some common examples why the data you requested may not be available.

If the participant declines to share some or all of their sensor data, it cannot be collected by MyDataHelps. It is not possible to distinguish whether a participant has declined to share data, or the data is simply unavailable due to app/device limitations.