Why would they find a way for a method that’s far more removed from the raw data (they blood) to be more accurate? That's not gonna happen. At best it’ll be almost as good as existing methods.
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Apple Watch Likely to Gain Blood Pressure, Blood Glucose, and Blood Alcohol Monitoring
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I think we are going to see a typical Apple spec bump with no major health features as mentioned in the rumored article.
Frequency is irrelevant. Legal limits vary by locale and blood alcohol concentration is time-dependent. Knowledge is power...
They already are, our medicare part D gave my wife and I series 6 watches for token amounts. $49 and $79 40mm and 44mm. New from Best Buy provided we let them monitor our health.
It will be a gamechanger for many people if the accuracy of blood glucose monitoring is somewhat acceptable!
My watch probably saved my life I had got a SE for my birthday was messing around with the settings turn on AFib alerts wore the watch to bed one night woke up to a AFib warning it went off a few times that day did think much of it. Wore it again for another night woke up it recorded for events so I told my wife she said we need to go to the ER they checked me out I was in AFib my heart was all over the place ranging from 37bpm to 160bpm. Was in hospital for 3 days they were worried about me having a stroke and in my blood work it showed me having a blood clot at some point seeing a cardiologist tomorrow as I'm still in AFib I also upgraded to a Apple watch 6 and can now run a test ECG
Actually it gives you an excuse to refuse the "next" drink without offending your host/guest.
Those would be great features (though personally I don't care for blood alcohol ability), but, both continuous glucose and blood pressure abilities would require FDA approval as a medical device (beyond what AW has today) and I do not believe they are ready for that, will require clinical trials etc. 2022 maybe.
And I would be even more surprised if these sensors would make it into the standard watch, eg glucose monitoring can easily command a hefty premium and I doubt Apple will leave that on the table.
And I would be even more surprised if these sensors would make it into the standard watch, eg glucose monitoring can easily command a hefty premium and I doubt Apple will leave that on the table.
I work in the industry.
Blood glucose with the watch is years away.
B/P. There’s a reason why most docs take it manually. More accurate.
BAC. Ehh. Gimmicky
1. Most doctors offices don’t use oximeters for regular visits, unless there is a good medical reason to do so. A healthy person going for a regular checkup for example is not a good medical reason to do so.
2. I hope you’re not trying to compare the Apple O2 sensor to a proper oximeter. The Apple Watch O2 sensor has not been approved as a medical device in any country in the world.
That’s because it’s not required for like ECG.
The Paramedic’s Guide to Blood Oxygen and the Apple Watch Series 6 - TidBITS
As a paramedic, Rich Mogull has spent decades using pulse oximeters under extreme conditions and environments. While he found the Apple Watch Series 6’s blood oxygen sensor to be quite accurate with just a little focus on positioning, he explains why it’s hard to find the value and use cases for...
tidbits.com
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Blood pressure, if it works accurately, would be a game changer for me. I've been hanging on to my Apple Watch Series 4 for BP to come. Was hoping it would come on Series 6, but guess I'll wait some more
Of course it is. If you want a medically approved device, you have to get medical approval.
And the more important medically approved Watch function is the heart rate monitoring function, not the ECG function. Sure the ECG function is cool, but it's not what is going to save most people since it's not a continuous monitoring function. The ECG function requires user intervention. People need to know to do an ECG, and then actually go and do it.
You can believe a single random paramedic, or you can believe professors of engineering that actually design these things, who state that wrist-worn pulse oximeters are inherently less accurate due to several limitations. They say at best these things may be somewhat useful in long term studies over large numbers of patients, but not really for an individual patient on an acute basis. They also say that it's not hard to enter the approval process for oximeters, because the process is a well-established one. However, actually getting approved as such actually requires equipment that can pass the requirements of course. And then there are reviewers from the big newspapers that agree it's unreliable.The Paramedic’s Guide to Blood Oxygen and the Apple Watch Series 6 - TidBITS
As a paramedic, Rich Mogull has spent decades using pulse oximeters under extreme conditions and environments. While he found the Apple Watch Series 6’s blood oxygen sensor to be quite accurate with just a little focus on positioning, he explains why it’s hard to find the value and use cases for...
Furthermore, you can believe Apple who has NEVER claimed it is medical device. I suspect that early on Apple realized it wasn't ever going to get governmental approval for this, and didn't bother trying, instead deciding only to sell it as a "wellness" feature. You don't need governmental approval for wellness devices.
No, just like heart rate monitor it is not required. We're talking about fact here, not opinion. The fact is if it need to be approved Apple wouldn't be able to include it without it.
The fact on how accuracy it is will come from tests, not from a sentence in support document.
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Just like FDA approved ECG that warns you to see a doctor if you're not feeling well, that is for legal reason rather than anything. Apple doesn't have to claim its blood oxygen to be medical grade to be accurate if you know how to use it. That doesn't prove anything. It only proves that Apple is being careful just as any corporate should be when dealing with people health.
The Apple Watch health rate monitor is FDA cleared already as a Class II device, just like its ECG function.
We're talking about fact here, not opinion.
No it's not. The heart rate monitor on Apple S0 to S3 has never been approved by FDA. We're talking about fact here.
The heart rate monitor on S4 onward has been approved for ECG function, not on monitoring your heart rate itself. It's ECG function that's required FDA approval to be classified. Without it there's simply no need.