A smartwatch app designed to measure social interactions of hospitalized stroke survivors may enable new treatments to preserve or enhance cognition, social engagement and quality of life after a stroke, according to a preliminary study to be presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2026 in New Orleans, Feb. 4-6.
Researchers developed a machine learning app called SocialBit, compatible with Android smartwatches, that identifies social interactions in both people with and without neurological conditions. The app uses acoustic patterns to detect human speech, quantifying the minutes per day participants engaged in social interaction. The study, involving 153 adults hospitalized for ischemic stroke, found SocialBit was 94% as accurate as human observers in recognizing social interactions, and maintained 93% accuracy in patients with aphasia. Performance remained consistent despite background noise, different environments, and across various smartwatch models.
“My previous research has demonstrated that stroke survivors who are socially isolated or have a smaller circle of friends and family have worse physical outcomes at 3 and 6 months after a stroke,” said study lead author Amar Dhand, M.D., D.Phil., an associate professor of neurology at Mass General Brigham in Boston. “We created a tracker of social life customized for stroke survivors. Tracking human engagement is crucial, and social isolation can now be identified in real-world situations.”
Social interaction is known to support brain health and recovery after neurological injury. The American Stroke Association notes that loss or change in speech and language profoundly alters the social life of stroke survivors, yet socializing is one of the best ways to maximize recovery. Participants in the study wore the smartwatch with SocialBit for up to 8 days, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The app logged socialization time based on acoustic patterns from the participant or another person talking. Researchers simultaneously watched livestream video to log minute-by-minute interactions.
“I was surprised by how well the app performed for people with aphasia. We used SocialBit to capture sounds instead of words to protect privacy, and this feature ended up being helpful for people with limited language skills,” Dhand said. “The SocialBit app may also help people recover from brain injuries. It can support therapies like speech, occupational and exercise therapy.”
The study also found that participants with more severe strokes had less social interaction, with about a 1% drop in total social interaction minutes for each 1-point increase in the NIH Stroke Scale. Future research could use SocialBit to measure social isolation risk in the hospital and after discharge, and explore links to depression and other mental health changes. “We can also test if this app can help with other brain injuries and in healthy aging to keep and improve brain health over time,” Dhand added.
Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., FAHA, chair of the American Heart Association Stroke Council, commented, “This research is fascinating in its capture of social interactions... There are multiple interesting ways this app could be used in future studies, including measures of quality of hospital care and social interactions at rehab facilities and nursing homes.” Bushnell was not involved in the study.
The study’s limitations include that detailed evaluations were only tested in hospital or rehabilitation settings. SocialBit is currently only available for research projects. According to the American Heart Association’s 2026 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics, stroke is now the #4 leading cause of death in the U.S. The findings are considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.
