With the approval of medical equipment by the US Food and Drug Administration on June 25th, it indicates that more domestic Apple Watch users will experience this function. Electrocardiogram monitoring is the third physical detection index to join smart wearable devices after heart rhythm and blood oxygen, which has long been supported by Huawei WATCHGT2ProECG and OPPOWatchECG in China. So what changes can the ECG function that big manufacturers have taken a fancy to bring to our lives?
Because the electrical signal intensity of different parts of the body is different, usually the more points are placed, the more accurate the measurement will be. When we have a physical examination in the hospital, doctors usually use the 12 lead of the 10 acquisition point to monitor the electrocardiogram, that is, electrodes are attached to the wrist, ankle and chest.
The principle of ECG realization of smart watches such as Apple Watch is to detect the electrical signals of fingertips and wrists respectively through the titanium electrode on the crown and a layer of silicon-chromium-carbonitride covered on the back of the fuselage. Because there are only two acquisition points in both hands to form a loop, these products can only provide I-lead ECG monitoring.
Do smart watches support ECG users to sit back and relax?
The answer is no, because compared with the hospital's 12 lead, a single lead can reflect fewer problems. As we said above, every additional lead in ECG monitoring can reflect more information and the data will be more comprehensive and accurate. Obviously, a single clue provides very limited information.
Moreover, even professional doctors face patients with myocardial infarction, because this disease is accompanied by considerable judgment risk, it is impossible to draw a conclusion only by 12 or 18 lead ECG data.
But according to its principle, Apple Watch and other products can provide useful reference value for sinus arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. This point is also written in the license document of Apple Watch of the US Food and Drug Administration, "It can be used to judge sinus rhythm and abnormal atrial fibrillation.
We should correctly identify the I-lead ECG on smart watches. Although it has limitations, its effect is far greater than that of "placebo", which has great reference value for patients and doctors. Considering the existence of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, even if the data of the smart watch is not accurate enough, because it is more portable, it only takes 30 seconds to lift the wrist at any time to complete a measurement. For the elderly and atrial fibrillation users, portable ECG smart wearable devices are necessary, which can play an early warning and avoid risks.