Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a smartwatch-based alert system that signals parents at the earliest signs of a tantrum in children with emotional and behavioral disorders \u2014 prompting them to intervene before it intensifies. In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, these alerts helped parents intervene within four seconds and shortened severe tantrums by an average of 11 minutes \u2014 about half the duration seen with standard therapy.<\/p>\n
In this system, a smartwatch worn by the child detects physiological stress signals, such as rising heart rate, or changes in movement or sleep, and sends them to an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled app on the parent\u2019s smartphone. The app analyzes the data in real time and sends an alert as a cue for the parent to connect with their child.<\/p>\n
The findings demonstrate how smartwatch technology can help bridge a gap in pediatric mental healthcare by giving parents actionable support when professional help isn\u2019t immediately available. That need is widespread \u2014 nearly 1 in 5 U.S. children has a mental, behavioral or emotional health disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
The approach demonstrates how wearable technology, paired with patient-centric AI design, can support families beyond the clinic.<\/p>\n
Study design and results<\/strong><\/p>\n In the randomized clinical trial, 50 children aged 3 to 7 receiving Parent-Child Interaction Therapy at Mayo Clinic participated over 16 weeks. Half were assigned to use the smartwatch system, and half continued standard therapy. The study evaluated whether families would use the technology as intended and whether immediate alerts could measurably change parent response times and children\u2019s behavior.<\/p>\n Notably, children wore the smartwatch for about 75% of the study period, demonstrating feasibility and family engagement.<\/p>\n \u201cThis study shows that even small, well-timed interventions can change the trajectory of a child\u2019s emotional dysregulation episode,\u201d says Magdalena Romanowicz, M.D., a Mayo Clinic child psychiatrist who co-led the study. \u201cThese moments give parents a chance to step in with supportive actions \u2014 moving closer, offering reassurance, labeling emotions and redirecting attention before a tantrum intensifies.\u201d<\/p>\n Building on earlier research<\/strong><\/p>\n This work builds on the team\u2019s earlier study, which used a machine learning algorithm to analyze smartwatch data \u2014 including heart rate, sleep and movement \u2014 to predict disruptive behaviors in hospitalized children receiving psychiatric care.<\/p>\n That study, published in the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, showed the algorithm could predict a child\u2019s behavioral state with 81% accuracy and provided a 30- to 60-minute advance warning of an impending outburst.<\/p>\n \u201cThis work shows how basic science and clinical research can come together to transform patient care,\u201d says Arjun Athreya, Ph.D., who co-led the study and serves on the engineering faculty in Mayo Clinic\u2019s Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. \u201cWe\u2019ve translated inpatient findings to outpatient care, and the results show how data from everyday smart devices can help families in real time.\u201d<\/p>\n Empowering families with data-driven care<\/strong><\/p>\n Paul Croarkin, D.O., a Mayo Clinic child and adolescent psychiatrist and study co-author, says the findings highlight the power of data-driven care. \u201cA smartwatch may seem simple, but when it\u2019s backed by evidence-based treatments and advanced analytics, it becomes a lifeline for families trying to manage severe behavioral symptoms at home.\u201d<\/p>\n Julia Shekunov, M.D., medical director of Mayo Clinic\u2019s Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Inpatient Unit and also a study co-author, says the work addresses an urgent need. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing more children in crisis, and the severity is increasing. This system gives parents tools they can use immediately, even outside the clinic, to help their child regain control.\u201d<\/p>\n Next steps<\/strong><\/p>\n Future studies will refine the system\u2019s predictive accuracy, test it in larger groups and assess its long-term benefits in routine outpatient care.<\/p>\n This study was funded in part by a Mayo Clinic Clinical Trial Stimulus Fund and Mayo Clinic\u2019s Center for Individualized Medicine. For a complete list of authors, disclosures and funding, review the study.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a smartwatch-based alert system that signals parents at the earliest signs of a tantrum in children with emotional and behavioral disorders \u2014 prompting them to intervene before it intensifies. In a new study published in JAMA Network Open, these alerts helped parents intervene within four seconds and shortened severe tantrums […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22827,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22828,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22824\/revisions\/22828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressreleasenetwork.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}