This means that the device will be able to
monitor sleep apnea.
Fitbit is building tools to help diagnose and
monitor sleep apnea, a disorder that affects some 18 million American adults, the company told CNBC.
But detecting or
monitoring sleep apnea might be more challenging than it seems for a consumer wearable company like Fitbit, and is more complicated than adding oxygen sensors to a watch and cranking data through algorithms.
This is critical for identifying and
monitoring sleep apnea, and it's not something you're going to get from a wrist wearable.
Not exact matches
Breakthroughs in everything from patient
monitoring to
sleep apnea are coming from Silicon Valley and could dramatically shift the current paradigm.
The AAP recommends against using home cardiorespiratory
monitors, the kind that detect
apnea (pauses in breathing while
sleeping), brachycardia (heart rate drops) and / or blood hemoglobin oxygenation.
From the very beginning we would plop those swaddled or
sleep - sacked bundles in their cribs, plug the electric baby in, (Hazel was on an
apnea monitor,) and walk out.
The
monitor helps babies who have
sleep apnea.
This type of mobile thermal imaging could be used for
monitoring breathing problems in elderly people living alone, people suspected of having
sleep apnea or babies at risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
«In young and middle - aged adults, our findings suggest that early detection and treatment of mild - to - moderate
sleep apnea is warranted in order to prevent future cardiometabolic disease,» said lead author and postdoctoral scholar Yun Li, MD. «Given the stronger association of
sleep apnea with metabolic abnormalities in this age group, emphasis should be placed on yearly
monitoring of indices of metabolic symptoms and lifestyle interventions, such as weight control, healthy diet, regular exercise, and stress management.»
The devices can also measure breathing and heart rates to
monitor sleep quality and help diagnose
sleep apnea.
«The early diagnosis and treatment with well -
monitored, continuous use of CPAP therapy in otherwise healthy young adults with moderate to severe obstructive
sleep apnea might prevent the future development of hypertension and reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications associated with the disease,» said Korcarz.
Diagnosis of
sleep apnea involves an overnight study at a
sleep lab, or in some cases, a home test that
monitors your breathing and vital signs while you
sleep.
Once upon a time, you had to spend an uncomfortable night at a
sleep lab hooked up to wires and
monitors to get an accurate
sleep apnea diagnosis.
Many
sleep disorders such as
sleep apnea and insomnia can be difficult to pinpoint while you're awake, so doctors use
sleep clinics to
monitor patients overnight.
Current rumors suggest the Fitbit Blaze 2 will have many of the same features as the Fitbit Ionic, with the upcoming wearable said to run the same Fitbit OS software and have a relative SpO2 sensor, which would be able to
monitor for
sleep apnea.
For instance, we hear that Fitbit is planning to use the same OS that debuted in the Ionic, and that the Ionic's SpO2 sensor will present in this device as well, allowing users to
monitor for
sleep apnea.
The new Fitbit is also supposedly waterproof to 50 meters, runs the same Fitbit OS software as the Ionic, and like the Ionic has a relative SpO2 sensor, which can
monitor blood oxygen levels and will allow the device to
monitor for
sleep apnea.
This includes FDA - approved portable
monitoring systems that
sleep apnea patients can take home with them, while the data is still being analyzed by a clinician.