National Apple Watch supports ECG function, is it really useful for our daily life?

Mobile phones as the entrance to the Internet life, there have also been more devices show intelligent development trend, in which smart wearable devices have become a high proportion of the consumer electronics field. Our most common smart bracelet, watch, after years of technological development, has not only satisfied to provide users with sports data.

With the June 25, Apple Watch national version through the State Drug Administration's approval of medical devices, heralding more domestic Apple Watch users will experience this function. ECG monitoring as heart rhythm, blood oxygen after the third to join the smart wearable device body testing indicators, the domestic Huawei WATCHGT2ProECG models and OPPOWatchECG version of these two products also early support, so the big manufacturers have looked at the electrocardiogram function, can bring what changes to our lives?

Since the strength of electrical signals in various parts of the body is different, usually the more points of cloth the more accurate the measurement. When we do a medical checkup in the hospital, the doctor usually uses a 12-lead ECG with 10 acquisition points, i.e., six electrode pads on both wrists, both ankles, and six points on the chest.

Apple Watch such smart watches ECG realization principle, is through the titanium electrodes in the crown, and the back of the body covered with a layer of silicon chromium carbon nitride, to detect the fingertip and wrist electrical signals, respectively, due to the only two hands at the two collection points to form a circuit, so this part of the product can only provide I single-lead ECG monitoring.

Does ECG support in smartwatches give users peace of mind?

The answer is no, because single-lead can reflect significantly fewer problems than 12-lead in hospitals. As we said above, with each additional lead in the ECG monitor, there is an additional set of information that can be reacted to, and the data will be more comprehensive and accurate, whereas obviously a single lead can provide very limited information.

And even a medical professional cannot rely on 12- or 18-lead ECG data alone to draw conclusions when dealing with a patient who is suffering from a heart attack, because of the considerable risk of judgment associated with this type of illness

But Apple Watch is a product that, by virtue of its principle, can be used to provide a favorable reference value for sinus arrhythmia and atrial fibrillation. This is also stated in the Apple Watch's license from the FDA, which states, "It can be used to determine sinus rhythm and abnormal atrial fibrillation

We should recognize that the single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) on a smartwatch has limitations, but it is far more useful than a "placebo. Considering the existence of patients with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, even if the data from the smartwatch is not accurate enough, because it is more portable, it only takes 30 seconds to complete a measurement by lifting the wrist at any time, for the elderly and users suffering from atrial fibrillation, the portable form of the ECG smart wearable device is very necessary, and it can serve as a warning and risk avoidance role