The FDA approved the Apple Watch sleep apnea detection tool

CBS News

A week after Apple held an event revealing its new iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPod models, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved an Apple Watch function that can detect sleep apnea in device-wearers.
The sleep apnea detection tool comes four days before the launch date of Apple’s new Series 10 watch, which will be released on September 20.
Those with existing Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models can use the sleep apnea feature starting today, however, with download of Apple’s newly released watchOS 11 software.
People who suffer from sleep apnea repeatedly stop and start breathing overnight and can, as a result, feel tired in the morning.
Left undetected, sleep apnea can cause heart problems and other complications, in serious cases.
The condition affects an estimated 1 billion people worldwide and is often undiagnosed, according to health organizations including the American Heart Association.
According to the FDA’s approval notice, the Apple Watch sleep apnea function is not a diagnostic tool, but rather an over-the-counter device designed to assess watch-wearers’ risk of sleep apnea.
Apple says the new health feature, Breathing Disturbances, is a metric that acts as an “intelligent guardian for users’ health.”
The feature works using an accelerometer on the watch that detects “small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns” during sleep, according to Apple.
Every 30 days, Apple Watch analyzes Breathing Disturbance data and alerts those users with a consistent pattern of sleep interruptions to visit a physician for possible diagnosis of sleep apnea.

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One week after Apple unveiled its latest models of the iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at an event, the U.S. S. The Apple Watch can now identify sleep apnea in users thanks to a feature that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Four days prior to Apple’s new Series 10 watch’s September 20 release date, the sleep apnea detection tool will be available. Those with existing Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 models can use the sleep apnea feature starting today, however, with download of Apple’s newly released watchOS 11 software.

People with sleep apnea may experience frequent nighttime breathing cessations and awakenings, which may leave them fatigued. If left untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious complications such as heart problems. Sometimes the symptom is loud snoring. Health groups like the American Heart Association estimate that the illness affects one billion people globally and is frequently misdiagnosed.

The FDA’s approval notice states that the Apple Watch sleep apnea function is an over-the-counter device intended to determine the wearer’s risk of sleep apnea, not a diagnostic tool. Breathing Disturbances, a new health feature from Apple, is described as a metric that serves as a “intelligent guardian for users’ health.”. “. .

According to Apple, the accelerometer on the watch is used to identify “small movements at the wrist associated with interruptions to normal respiratory patterns” when a user is sleeping. Every 30 days, Apple Watch examines data on breathing disturbances and notifies users who exhibit a regular pattern of sleep disruptions to see a doctor in case sleep apnea is identified.

“Encouraging people worldwide to be able to accurately recognize the existence of irregular breathing patterns while they sleep can aid in identifying a grave and sadly underdiagnosed medical condition like sleep apnea,” stated a statement from Sairam Parthasarathy, UA Health Sciences’ director of the Health Sciences Center for Sleep, Circadian and Neurosciences Center for Sleep, and University of Arizona professor of medicine. In terms of enhancing public health, this is a significant advance. “.”.

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