Apple Watch , the well-known Apple smartwatch, is among the best performing wearables on the market. Launched for the first time in 2015, today we are in the sixth series , with increasingly cutting-edge features. Based on a recent study, it seems that the Apple wearable is able, by evaluating some parameters, to understand if a subject has, or not, symptoms of Covid-19.
Apple Watch and the Covid-19 study
The Covid-19 pandemic is bringing the whole world to its knees marked, among other things, by a very high number of infections and, unfortunately, of deaths. This is why preventing infections and possibly recognizing their symptoms well in advance can help save many lives. And it is precisely on this objective that an American study carried out by the Mount Sinai Health System of New York has focused .
Professor Michael Snyder, who led the research, pointed out that in people affected by SARV-COV2 there are prolonged variations in the heartbeat during the incubation phase of the infection. From April 29, 2020 to September 29, 2020, 300 healthcare professionals wore an Apple Watch on their wrists. In 2/3 of them the aforementioned changes occurred which then resulted in contagion. And all this about 7 days after the first symptoms appear.
How you are warned that something is wrong
Apple Watch has no ambition to replace medical tests and swabs for Covid-19 detection. However, it is a first alarm bell that can capture our attention and avoid indiscriminate contagion. Professor Snyder himself, warned of changes in his heartbeat, underwent all the necessary investigations before being certain he could have contact with other people without risking infecting them.
Ultimately, Apple Watch integrates a special function that acoustically warns when a fluctuation in the heartbeat that is too evident and prolonged is detected. An important study, the results of which are available on this pdf , which leads us to understand how any smartwatch capable of monitoring heart rate is potentially able to save our lives and save it to our loved ones. It seems, in fact, that many of the “revealed” cases belonged to asymptomatic but, not for this, less contagious.