Apple introduced a new feature for the Apple Watch on October 24 that helps detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea in Canada. This release follows Apple’s approval for a Medical Device License from Health Canada for the sleep apnea notification feature.

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Sleep apnea is a potentially serious condition in which breathing stops repeatedly during sleep. It affects over 1 billion people globally, with many cases undiagnosed. If untreated, sleep apnea can lead to serious health risks, including high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and heart issues.

How does the watch detect apnea?

The Apple Watch uses an accelerometer to track subtle wrist movements that may indicate breathing interruptions during sleep. This activity is measured by a new metric called “Breathing Disturbances.” While some interruptions are normal, frequent disturbances over multiple nights may indicate sleep apnea. Users can track their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app on iPhone and iPad, where data is categorized as elevated or not and viewable over a one-month, six-month, or one-year period.

Data analysis

Breathing disturbance data is analyzed every 30 days, and users are notified if there are consistent signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea. This notification includes the time period when possible sleep apnea was detected, educational resources on seeking treatment, and a PDF report with three months of breathing disturbance data and other details, which users can reference in discussions with their healthcare provider.

The sleep apnea notification feature was developed using advanced machine learning and a large dataset of clinical sleep apnea tests. In a validation study—the largest of its kind for sleep apnea technology—every participant flagged by the algorithm had at least mild sleep apnea.

Source: Apple Newsroom Canada

Photos: Apple