On Sept. 9, 2024, Apple unveiled Apple Watch Series 10, a smartwatch featuring new obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) notifications.
About Apple Watch Series 10
Apple Watch Series 10 offers advanced capabilities, a thinner profile and larger display screen than previous models. Building upon health tracking features already available, such as heart rate, respiratory rate and wrist temperature, Series 10 includes a new feature to help identify signs of moderate to severe OSA in people aged 18 years or older.
Using an accelerometer to monitor small movements associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns, Series 10 tracks periods of restless sleep. A new metric known as “breathing disturbances” helps users detect consistent signs of OSA. Nightly data is available in the Health app on iPhone, where breathing disturbances are classified as elevated or not elevated.
The watch’s algorithm notifies users if the data indicates consistent signs of OSA. The notification will also include educational materials and a PDF with three months of historical data to reference in a conversation with a health care professional.
According to Apple’s press release, the notification algorithm was developed using advanced machine learning and an extensive data set of clinical-grade OSA tests. The feature was validated in a clinical study.
On Sept. 13, 2024, Apple received FDA 510(k) clearance for its sleep apnea notification feature. Apple released an article describing the development and validation of the feature. The feature will be supported on Apple Watch Series 9, Apple Watch Series 10 and Apple Watch Ultra 2.
About OSA
OSA is a prevalent and serious sleep disorder where the airway becomes repeatedly blocked during sleep, leading to paused breathing and oxygen deprivation. Commonly caused by the collapse of throat tissues, it can result in loud snoring, choking noises and frequent awakenings, potentially contributing to health issues such as high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and depression.
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Updated Sept. 18, 2024
