A smartwatch-based monitoring system may enable more continuous remote monitoring of pain symptoms in patients with cancer receiving palliative care, according to a study published in JMIR Formative Research.
Researchers evaluated NEST, a wearable monitoring platform designed to collect patient-reported pain data through a smartwatch interface linked to a digital clinical monitoring system. The system was tested in a small observational usability study involving patients receiving palliative cancer care.
CLINICAL SUMMARY
What was examined
A usability study evaluated a smartwatch-based system for real-time pain monitoring in patients receiving palliative cancer care.
Key findings
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The wearable platform enabled patients to report symptoms directly through a smartwatch interface.
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Approximately 83% of patient-reported outcomes were submitted via the smartwatch rather than a smartphone application.
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Wear-time adherence ranged from 36% to 92% across participants.
Clinical implications
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Wearable technologies may support continuous symptom monitoring in palliative oncology care.
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Smartwatch-based reporting could help capture patient-reported outcomes outside clinical settings.
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Larger studies will be required to determine clinical benefit and integration into routine care.
Participants used the smartwatch to report pain and symptom information during both hospital-based and home monitoring periods. The study assessed adherence, usability and the feasibility of integrating wearable symptom reporting into routine care.
Across the study period, most patient-reported outcomes were submitted through the smartwatch interface rather than a companion smartphone application, accounting for approximately 83% of symptom reports. Device wear-time adherence varied between participants, ranging from 36% to 92%.
Featured Event
Patients and clinicians reported generally positive usability and acceptability of the wearable platform, suggesting that smartwatch-based monitoring may be a feasible way to collect symptom data in real time. However, practical challenges were also identified, including device charging requirements and integration with existing clinical workflows.
The authors note that while the findings support the feasibility of wearable symptom monitoring in palliative oncology care, larger studies will be needed to evaluate clinical impact and scalability.
Paper: Domínguez F, et al. Evaluating a Wearable-Based Pain Monitoring System in Palliative Cancer Care: Usability and Feasibility Study. JMIR Form Res 2026;10:e78098. Access online here.
