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Apple Watch Chief Jeff Williams Says ECG App is 'Huge Opportunity' to Empower People About Their Health
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Exactly, what a wonderful thing to share such as glucose monitoring, heart rhythm or AI....
"Standing on the shoulders of giants"
Apple today announced that its ECG app will be available on the Apple Watch Series 4 today as part of watchOS 5.1.2. Alongside that news, TIME has published a new interview with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams.
The article begins with a story about 46-year-old Texas resident Kevin Foley, who was having trouble breathing normally during a movie. Fortunately, since he was wearing an Apple Watch and participating in the recent Apple Heart Study, he was alerted to signs of an irregular heartbeat and went to the emergency room.
At the hospital, doctors hooked Foley up to an ECG machine and found signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other potentially fatal complications. Foley spent the next few days in the hospital while doctors worked to return him to a normal sinus heart rhythm and is doing fine now.
"Apple's largest contribution to mankind will be in improving people's health and well-being," Cook boldly proclaimed.
"We have tens of millions of watches on people's wrists, and we have hundreds of millions of phones in people's pockets," said Williams. "There's a huge opportunity to empower people with more information about their health. So this is something we view as not only an opportunity, but a responsibility of ours."
Williams also appeared on CBS This Morning today to talk about the ECG app. The YouTube video can only be streamed in the United States.
The report says a traditional hospital ECG is often referred to as a "12-lead" machine, as its 10 different electrodes provide information on 12 different areas of the heart. The new Apple Watch is the equivalent of only a single-lead device, but research suggests the ECG app is still very accurate.
In a press release, Apple said the accuracy of its ECG app was validated in a clinical trial with around 600 participants. The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 percent sensitivity in classifying atrial fibrillation:"The FDA has been very rigorous, and they should be," said Williams, referring to the Apple Watch's heart health features.
The article goes on to claim that some cardiologists and other experts have raised concerns that the Apple Watch's ECG feature is "unnecessary for the general population" and "could cause problems," including false positives.
"If everybody with an Apple Watch and an alert from an Apple Watch went to a heart-rhythm doctor that was super comfortable with this, then I think it would be O.K.," said Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist. "But there are going to be millions of people going to the doctor that in many cases will be just fine."
Apple responded that no medical test is 100 percent accurate, so some false positives are inevitable, according to the report. Moreover, the Apple Watch will only alert users to a potential heart-related problem if it detects five instances of what it considers a cardiovascular episode, including arrhythmia.
Importantly, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple cautioned that the ECG app is "not intended to be a diagnostic device or to replace traditional methods of diagnosis," and "should not be used to monitor or track disease state or change medication without first talking to a doctor."
To take an ECG reading from the Apple Watch, users will need to place a finger on the Digital Crown while wearing the watch. The reading is completed in 30 seconds, allowing users to determine whether their hearts are beating in a regular pattern or if there are signs of atrial fibrillation.
Irregular heart rhythm notifications will also be available on Apple Watch Series 1 through Series 4 models in watchOS 5.1.2.
Apple says the setup process for these heart health features will include details about who can use the features, what the features can and cannot do, what results users may get and how to interpret them, and instructions for what to do if users are feeling symptoms that require immediate medical attention.
watchOS 5.1.2 should be available through the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time as usual. At launch, the ECG app will be limited to the U.S., but Apple is likely working to get regulatory clearance elsewhere.
Article Link: Apple Watch Chief Jeff Williams Says ECG App is 'Huge Opportunity' to Empower People About Their Health
Unfortunately, once diagnosed previously with AFIB you will NOT be allowed to setup and use the ECG app. This is very disappointing to me, especially, since diagnosed with AFIB in January 2018, I enthusiastically upgraded my Apple Watch to a series 4 exclusively for the ECG APP as advertised. I am hopeful a version update will allow previously diagnosed AFIB'ers an opportunity to use the ECG app for informational purposes to share with their cardiologist and primary care Doctor.
Did it exclude you because during the setup it asks about medical history? If so perhaps it has been deployed as a primary screening tool, but not secondary or tertiary.
Yes, during setup asked if previously diagnosed with AFIB. (which if answered YES - discontinues completion of app install) I understand app is an informational tool to share with cardiologist but disappointed will not let setup advance if previously diagnosed with AFIB.
Exactly. Many people who participate in sport regularly have a low heart rate - runners and cyclists often in the 30's. It is a sign of a strong heart (most of the time), yet devices such as this may cause alarm.
Hopefully the technology can be refined.
Do the drug companies share their patents? Why should a for profit company give away its ip for ground breaking inventions, if universities bastions of education as they are don’t give away their ip.
I guess I am just wired differently from you. For me its not all about the money.
But in saying that lots of companies share and give away IP for free, including Apple
As it relates to inventions relating to medicine, telemedicine or healthcare how much ip is given away? I guess companies could give away patents they deem excess. Cross licensed is not the same as give away.
I wasn’t talking about cross licensing.
I’m just glad that not everyone in the biomed field thinks about the money side of it like you do. Lots do but there are lots that don’t. As they say money doesn’t buy happiness.
Somebody has to think of the money part. Who is going to pay the qualified researchers and fund the r and d? And exactly who is giving their ip away related to medicing, telemedicine or healthcare. Have some citations.
As far as the money part, that aphorism is a non-sequitor to your discussion. Money can't buy happiness, but it makes your life a whole lot easier.
So you don't see a problem with Universities trying to patent things funded by tax dollars as non profit organisations?
I do, but that’s not the point of why I mentioned that. I have a bigger problem when people suggest for profit companies should just wily nily give away their ip.
Yeah, it’s a nice pipe dream, but in reality, what incentive would a company have to do their own R&D when they could just wait for another company to do all the hard work and copy the results?
I never said willy nilly
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I wasn't talking about all ip just the medical field.
Like when Apple likes to promote itself as the saviour of the planet. Oh wait, maybe it is not Apple that does this but its fanbois.
After using it, I don't see a huge potential for false alarms – maybe a handful of false positives from time to time, but no flooding.
Apple today announced that its ECG app will be available on the Apple Watch Series 4 today as part of watchOS 5.1.2. Alongside that news, TIME has published a new interview with Apple's CEO Tim Cook and COO Jeff Williams.
The article begins with a story about 46-year-old Texas resident Kevin Foley, who was having trouble breathing normally during a movie. Fortunately, since he was wearing an Apple Watch and participating in the recent Apple Heart Study, he was alerted to signs of an irregular heartbeat and went to the emergency room.
At the hospital, doctors hooked Foley up to an ECG machine and found signs of atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other potentially fatal complications. Foley spent the next few days in the hospital while doctors worked to return him to a normal sinus heart rhythm and is doing fine now.
"Apple's largest contribution to mankind will be in improving people's health and well-being," Cook boldly proclaimed.
"We have tens of millions of watches on people's wrists, and we have hundreds of millions of phones in people's pockets," said Williams. "There's a huge opportunity to empower people with more information about their health. So this is something we view as not only an opportunity, but a responsibility of ours."
Williams also appeared on CBS This Morning today to talk about the ECG app. The YouTube video can only be streamed in the United States.
The report says a traditional hospital ECG is often referred to as a "12-lead" machine, as its 10 different electrodes provide information on 12 different areas of the heart. The new Apple Watch is the equivalent of only a single-lead device, but research suggests the ECG app is still very accurate.
In a press release, Apple said the accuracy of its ECG app was validated in a clinical trial with around 600 participants. The study found the ECG app on Apple Watch demonstrated 98.3 percent sensitivity in classifying atrial fibrillation:"The FDA has been very rigorous, and they should be," said Williams, referring to the Apple Watch's heart health features.
The article goes on to claim that some cardiologists and other experts have raised concerns that the Apple Watch's ECG feature is "unnecessary for the general population" and "could cause problems," including false positives.
"If everybody with an Apple Watch and an alert from an Apple Watch went to a heart-rhythm doctor that was super comfortable with this, then I think it would be O.K.," said Dr. John Mandrola, a cardiac electrophysiologist. "But there are going to be millions of people going to the doctor that in many cases will be just fine."
Apple responded that no medical test is 100 percent accurate, so some false positives are inevitable, according to the report. Moreover, the Apple Watch will only alert users to a potential heart-related problem if it detects five instances of what it considers a cardiovascular episode, including arrhythmia.
Importantly, in an internal document obtained by MacRumors, Apple cautioned that the ECG app is "not intended to be a diagnostic device or to replace traditional methods of diagnosis," and "should not be used to monitor or track disease state or change medication without first talking to a doctor."
To take an ECG reading from the Apple Watch, users will need to place a finger on the Digital Crown while wearing the watch. The reading is completed in 30 seconds, allowing users to determine whether their hearts are beating in a regular pattern or if there are signs of atrial fibrillation.
Irregular heart rhythm notifications will also be available on Apple Watch Series 1 through Series 4 models in watchOS 5.1.2.
Apple says the setup process for these heart health features will include details about who can use the features, what the features can and cannot do, what results users may get and how to interpret them, and instructions for what to do if users are feeling symptoms that require immediate medical attention.
watchOS 5.1.2 should be available through the Apple Watch app on a paired iPhone around 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time as usual. At launch, the ECG app will be limited to the U.S., but Apple is likely working to get regulatory clearance elsewhere.
Article Link: Apple Watch Chief Jeff Williams Says ECG App is 'Huge Opportunity' to Empower People About Their Health
This is the exact reason why the UK is being very reluctant to pass through regulations of the ECG feature of the watch because they are worried that owners of the watch will be rushing to hospitals A&E departments saying they have a heart problem or they be constantly ringing the emergency services asking for an ambulance to take them to hospital, which will put an enormous strain on the health service.
There is also the legal ramifications to contend with if health professionals ignore the ECG readings off the watch because they see the feature as a gimmick and the owner of the watch dies from a heart problem. This therefore means would health professionals have a legal duty to accept such ECG watch readings?
Do you have a source for any of that, or did you just pull that out of your booty?
The information came from numerous news stories from the national press at the time when the ECG feature of the watch was announced.
If a government/department feels like the feature is not worthy of approval, they don’t have to approve it and things will stay as they are. Problem solved.
How does the installation software know that you have been diagnosed with A-Fib?