The Apple Watch is surprisingly a special smartwatch full of health features. Because of this, many experts see a potential Cupertino firm's wearable as a health tracker.
Previously, Samsung teamed up with the University of Michigan to improve the smartwatch's health capabilities. This time, researchers at Stanford University will check if this device is effective in detecting arrhythmia among children.
Can Apple Watch Help in Detecting Arrhythmia?
According to a report by Phone Arena on Wednesday, Oct. 4, Stanford University researchers will launch a new study involving Apple Watch.
The team says that the experiment will begin from November 2023 to December 2024. In order to see if it's really an effective tool for health tracking, they set the main objectives of the study.
First, the researchers will test if the Apple Watch ECG is an effective tool to measure the heart rate of children. This will ensure that the smartwatch is accurate in the process.
The second objective that researchers aim for is to identify if it can monitor arrhythmia-related events that bypass short-term clinical procedures.
Related Article: Apple Watch Records All Types of Irregular Heartbeats to Alert Users Who Need Medical Attention
Who Are The Participants in the Apple Watch Study?
The clinical trial for the study will involve children aged 6 and above. Young adults are also included in the research.
When it comes to exclusion criteria, those participants aged 5 years old and below won't be permitted in the trial because they might not be able to safely use the wearable monitor.
The study mentions that these participants are incapable of "effectively utilizing the triggered features of the monitor or watch." These also cover other patients who can't use the wearable.
Since this study is all about arrhythmia monitoring, the participants should have this condition. Healthy people are not allowed to join the trials.
Treating Patients With Arrhythmia
Currently, the FDA has given the green light for the Apple Watch's heart monitoring features, particularly for measuring irregular heartbeat of patients. This is approved for adults over 22 years old.
With Stanford researchers aiming to unlock new findings about this wearable monitor, the study is expected to unveil if it's accurate for patients aged 21 and below.
Through the course of six months, 100 children and young adults will be instructed to wear Apple Watch. This will help the team to create comparisons about the arrhythmia events detected by the smartwatch. They are measured with a "standard clinical rhythm monitor".
If the study is successful, this could ease the financial burden that patients' families are facing with children with arrhythmia, per MyHealthyApple.
It's truly a wonderful sighting to see how far this study will go. This will definitely change the game for passively monitoring the heart rate of young patients in the future.
