We are extremely excited to introduce a new and revolutionary product developed by Apple that allows each individual to manage their health in a more preemptive way. This high-technology company received approval from the FDA for one of the latest features of the Apple Watch that will screen for sleep apnea. This development does not only show the efforts of Apple in advancing health-oriented technology, but points out the wearable’s capabilities to fill the void of devastating but often hidden medical problems.
Breathing Disturbances: A Promise within and an Insight into Sleep Health
Sleep apnea is a superior disorder when an individual’s breathing pretentiously is growing from and failing many times within sleep. More than a hundred million people of sleep survey apnea worldwide. Even with such an explanation, it is still under-diagnosed causing many health hazards to be at risk. That is the goal as well of Apple’s new “Breathing Disturbances” feature.
Besides, this feature uses the optics based on the built-in accelerometer of the watch. By employing this, leg movements related to change of breathing patterns while sleeping are noticed. For continuously thirty days, the records are harvested and then sophisticated patterns are sought using a computer program. Should such a risk factor be present, an advice is pushed to the user’s device to go and see a doctor.
Even though the FDA is clear that this feature should not be viewed as an independent means of diagnosis, it is indeed a great advancement in using common tools for the purpose of health monitoring. The option of providing an exported PDF of the archived data for or medical purposes increases its fitness to function as an interface of consumers’ gadgets and the medical gadgets market.
Beyond Sleep: Apple’s Growing Health Tech Ecosystem
Detecting sleep apnea is just one feature in Apple’s larger foray into health technology. The company has already obtained regulatory approval from the US FDA to detect atrial fibrillation using its wrist watches and is seeking to extend its health-oriented features to other gadgets.
Recent advances include new functions for AirPods, which enhance the strengths of the devices to new levels whereby more users can make use of its hearing capabilities. This move together with the already present hearing test of AirPods is evidence of Apple’s strategy of health care responsive environmental design.
The Counting of Blessings and Curses in Wearable Health Technology
However, even though the prospective results from such innovations are encouraging, the associated issues need to be taken into consideration. The apple watch is already starting to be an essential health monitoring tool considering that last year alone, approximately forty million apple watch sales were recorded. There are some physicians who are already prescribing these devices de facto as health tools.
Nonetheless, such pessimism together with the above concerns need to be tempered. There are many concerns surrounding sensor performance and the tendency to use commercial off-the-shelf equipment for diagnostic purposes smoothing the way for the possible complete loss of medical practitioners’ intervention. As these industries grow, a fine line should be drawn between creativity and pragmatism.
To sum up, Apple’s latest health technology – sleep apnea screen – is a good start towards utilizing technology in one’s health management. It may not be a substitute for proper care, but it has the capacity to prompt millions into action, diagnosing and treating conditions that are often embarrassed and thus neglected. As the evolution of functioning of other types of wearable technology continues, such devices will become a basic factor specific to the initiatives regarding health-care management – however, not as proper replacement of a doctor’s intervention.
