A new study from the University of California at San Francisco and a health startup, Cardiogram, show that Apple Watch, many Android Wear devices and Fitbit can accurately diagnose hypertension and sleep apnea. Do note these devices do not have traditional sensors used to track those health issues, just a heart rate sensor.
Cardiogram and UCSF Health Lab report said hypertension and sleep apnea were diagnosed on wearables with 82 percent and 90 percent accuracy, respectively. Those rates are slightly lower than the rate for abnormal heart rhythm, which Cardiogram and UCSF diagnosed with 97 percent accuracy in a previous study from May.
Cardiogram – is not affiliated with Apple, Google or Fitbit, does make apps for iOS, Android, Android wear and Apple WatchOS — and UCSF determined accuracy levels by using artificial intelligence system called DeepHeart to pick up abnormal patterns in heart rate. Cardiogram
The study was conducted with more than 6,000 subjects, 37 percent and 17 percent who had hypertension and sleep apnea, respectively. The study will be subjected to months of peer-reviewed clinical research to validate the findings. Cardiogram says it plans to expand its studies into diagnosing pre-diabetes and diabetes.
In September, both Apple and Fitbit were selected by the Food and Drug Administration to participate in a trial program allowing the companies to skip certain regulations to expedite innovation.
tudy Links
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/136/Suppl_1/A21042
http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/136/Suppl_1/A21029
