Apple announced
the launch of its previously stated Heart Study with the release of the Heart
Study app. The Apple Heart Study app is an innovative research study that uses
data from Apple Watch to identify irregular heart rhythms, including those from
potentially serious heart conditions such as atrial fibrillation (AFib). This
study is being conducted in collaboration with Stanford Medicine to accelerate
discovery in heart science.
Anyone who
is 22 years or older, resident of US and owns an apple watch series 1 or newer
can download the app. As a part of study, the app will collect data throughout
the day, and monitor your heart rate and rhythm. It notifies you on your iPhone and apple watch, if an
irregularity is detected .
After
the notification, you’ll receive a free video consultation on your iPhone with
the study’s medical professionals for further analysis. - The video
consultation connects you with a board-certified, licensed primary care
provider- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
In some
cases, you will also receive a BioTelemetry electrocardiogram (ECG) patch for
additional monitoring. The patch is mailed to study participants at no cost,
and required to be worn for 7 days. The data will be analyzed to see if patient
is suffering from Afib or other problems of irregular rhythm.
“Through the
Apple Heart Study, Stanford Medicine faculty will explore how technology like
Apple Watch’s heart rate sensor can help usher in a new era of proactive health
care central to our Precision Health approach,” said Lloyd Minor, Dean of
Stanford University School of Medicine. “We’re excited to work with Apple on
this breakthrough heart study.”
To monitor
and calculate the rate and rhythm, Apple Watch’s sensor uses LED lights flashing hundreds of times per
second and light-sensitive photodiodes to detect the amount of blood flowing
through the wrist as an indicator of the heart’s activity. The data gathered
along with Apple’s powerful software algorithms identifies an irregular heart
rhythm.
This method
which is also used in other wearables, is considered less sensitive than ECG
sensors. So, the ability of Apple watch to detect arrhythmias would be a giant
leap in wearables market.
Recently,
AlivCor has launched FDA approved KardiaBand, a single-lead ECG device for the
Apple Watch.
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