Posted on 04/24/2015 9:20:08 AM PDT by Star Traveler
iFixit’s teardown of the Apple Watch has revealed that the sophisticated heart-rate monitor used is actually capable of acting as a pulse oximeter, allowing it to calculate the oxygen content of your blood by measuring how much infrared light is absorbed. This data would be useful for health and fitness monitoring, but the functionality is not currently enabled in the watch.
As iFixit notes, there are a couple of possible reasons Apple is not currently allowing to watch to display this data …
First, it may simply be that the company hasn’t yet achieved the necessary accuracy and reliability from the sensor. If this is indeed the case, we’ll need to wait for a second- or third-generation Apple Watch to take advantage of this capability.
But it may also be that Apple is awaiting FDA approval of this usage of the sensor. If that turns out to be true, then it’s possible that a software update could later enable the feature for existing first-gen Apple Watch owners.
The Food & Drug Administration is on record as stating that it intends light-touch regulation of fitness-orientated wearables, but is likely to apply stricter standards to those features which veer more toward the medical diagnosis end of the scale.
There’s a pulse oximeter in the Apple Watch!
That’s one of the things I mentioned yesterday that I thought would be a good thing to have.
I love these tear downs.
There is also ... ResearchKit for Developers
https://developer.apple.com/researchkit/
ResearchKit is an open source framework introduced by Apple that enables your iOS app to become a powerful tool for medical research. Easily create visual consent flows, real-time dynamic active tasks, and surveys using a variety of customizable modules that you can build upon and share with the community. And since ResearchKit works seamlessly with HealthKit, researchers can access even more relevant data for their studies — like daily step counts, calorie use, and heart rate.
IIRC, one rumor says they omitted pulse-ox from the software kit largely because they were getting inconsistent results based on skin tone, that is, darker skin tones were getting less reliable readings.
It would be bad enough to release a feature that didn’t work reliably (c.f., some of the grief over Siri), but to do so in a case where the affected population contains one or more very vocal grievance groups? Best to keep working on it until it’s ready.
It also revealed it’s actually powered by a small diesel engine.
What is Apple’s HealthKit?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/11395073/What-is-Apples-HealthKit.html
Apple’s HealthKit is being tested in some of the US’s top hospitals in a pilot scheme of the service, as doctors use it to collate data and monitor patients remotely.
Fourteen of 23 major hospitals are trialing the service, which was first announced as a key feature of iOS 8 last June, according to Reuters. Google and Samsung had reportedly approached a number of the same hospitals to discuss health-based technology plans.
So what is HealthKit, and will we be seeing it in British hospitals any time soon?
What is HealthKit?
HealthKit is a framework designed to house healthcare and fitness apps, allow them to work together and collate their data under the Health app. For example, a heart monitoring app and blood pressure tracking app could send information to each other from within HealthKit to develop a more comprehensive picture of your health. This customised data could then be sent to your physician via an app such as Mayo Clinic, which will allow your doctor to keep an eye on particular changes in your information remotely. Apple is also working with a number of partners including Nike on the fitness side of HealthKit, through which users can set goals and track their own progress through a single dashboard.
The nifty new iWatch pulse oximeter will alert you to any sudden variations in your blood oxygen level, and then direct you to the nearest Obamacare clinic where they will fix you right up (for a small fee). For your added convenience, it will also report you to the Obamacare death panel database so your progress can be tracked or other corrective action may be taken to benefit the collective.
Given the current state of the software on the Apple Watch, they could implement blood oxygen readings once improved software is available. And that could open the door for monitoring people who have known issues with their heart.
I don’t know about Obamacare, as I don’t have it. I’m paying for something else ... :-) ...
But in terms of Apple’s “HealthKit” ... one of the key aspects of it ... is that the user can control how their data is used. My usage (for something like this) will be for my medical records, and then I’ll send it to my cardiologist ... :-) ...
We’ll have to wait, though, until it is activated.
Well, I’m one of those people for that kind of monitoring. I’ll look forward to it being implemented.
Assuming the problem is software. The sensor might be the issue, in which case, people would have to wait for a new version (even if only a “silent bump” type of release).
As for me, between the cost and being version 1.0, I’m not planning on getting one right now anyway. I’ve never been an “early adopter”, more of a “second wave” kind of guy. By the time version 2 rolls out, we’ll have a much better picture of what having one of these will really do and whether it’s worth the cost.
It never became a sellable feature of the calculator. Why? It was never accurate enough. It's clock was off as much as an hour a day. It may very well be that the Apple version may have the same problem with its oximeter.
You gotta keep in mind two things here. One is that Apple is moving into the Health market in a big way. The second thing is that the FDA is going to be involved in the approval process.
Those two things tell me ... “It’s coming!”
Probably gonna use this to justify taxing you on your carbon emission—as you breathe. These people are scum.
Well, it’s kinda like “monitoring” my car with its odometer. It’s there, and I use it, and I definitely want my car to have one ... but what the government does about it, is a completely different matter ... :-) ...
Kind of expected in a device that straps to the wrist. May be patent issues.
Or waiting til lawyers find a way to make sure it is not subject to the Medical Device tax.
Not likely ... :-) ...
— — —
The medical device tax: A primer
Included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and launched in 2013, the medical device tax imposes a 2.3 percent sales tax on medical device supplies. The tax applies broadly to a range of products, including pacemakers, artificial joints, surgical gloves, and dental instruments. It does not apply to eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, wheelchairs, or any other device that the public generally buys for individual use.
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/health360/posts/2015/04/23-medical-device-tax-primer-daniel
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
I challenge the members of the Apple ping list to each donate at least $10 each to the latest Freepathon to counter such extortion. I HAVE donated $100. Many members of the Apple Ping list are already rising to the challenge. Join them. Let's show the power of the Apple Ping list in supporting Freerepublic!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.