During the presentation of the new smartwatch, Apple briefly mentioned the sleep apnea diagnostic function but left out the details of how it works. Now, the company has provided more insight by declassifying the operating principle of its proprietary technology.
The apnea detection feature has been certified by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To gain this approval, Apple had to submit a detailed description of the function, which has now been made public. The technology operates using readings from a three-axis gyroscope and accelerometer, which track the movements of a sleeping person. According to Apple, disturbances in the breathing process are reflected in wrist movements, which the watch is designed to detect.
How It Works and Device Compatibility
Apple notes that the Watch cannot detect apnea in a single session. For accurate diagnosis, the user must wear the watch while sleeping for several nights. The diagnostic process is supported by machine learning algorithms, which are trained on an extensive dataset from clinical tests for sleep apnea. This feature is available on Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2, with the latest version of watchOS, adds NIX Solutions.
We’ll keep you updated as Apple continues to enhance this feature with future developments and improvements.