As part of the ongoing search for COVID-19 solutions, researchers have found that data from wearable devices — Apple Watches, Fitbits and the like — can act as an early warning system in detecting the illness.

According to Fortune, Apple, Fitbit, Garmin and other wearable device makers have donated devices to further early studies, even encouraging their own customers to participate in them.

Most recently, Fitbit and Apple have teamed up with the Stanford Healthcare Innovation Lab on its COVID-19 wearables study. While the findings have yet to be published, there’s evidence that the idea works. Stanford researchers were able to detect signs of the coronavirus before or at the time of diagnosis in in 11 of 14 patients by studying changes in their heart rate documented by Fitbits.

“There’s a huge amount of promise in these new technologies,” Dr. John Brownstein, chief innovation officer for Boston Children’s Hospital and a professor of epidemiology at Harvard Medical School, tells ABC News.

If smart devices, already worn by 21 percent of Americans, can truly flag early symptoms of COVID-19, they could help to safely reopen workplaces and schools — moving from their place as consumer gadgets to the front lines of healthcare.