Researchers from Standford University claim that the Apple Watch can precisely evaluate a person’s “frailty.” The study took place between May 2018 and May 2019 and had a participant pool of 110 people, all of whom had some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The Apple Watch Is Nearly as Effective as In-Clinic Frailty Tests
The testing method used for the study was a 6-minute walk test (6MWT). “Frailty was defined as walking
Furthermore, the study was conducted using a specially-designed app called “VascTrac.” The app passively collected data such as total steps taken in a day, maximum steps without stopping (MSWS), and total distance walked per day.
The study, published on PLOS One, states that the Apple Watch in combination with an iPhone was able to “assess ‘frailty’ with sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 85%,” under supervised in-clinic settings. When in unsupervised, home-based conditions the effectiveness fell to 83% sensitivity and 60% specificity.
#AppleWatch able to monitor frailty in cardiovascular disease patients @PLOSONE https://t.co/zqq3Mx2hf4
— Medical Xpress (@medical_xpress) March 30, 2021
These results clearly indicate that the Apple Watch and iPhone can, in fact, accurately measure the frailty of CVD patients. Even in comparison to a robust in-clinic 6MWT, the numbers are quite impressive.
The Study Was Funded by Apple
There are quite a few important things to note about the study. One of them is that, despite being conducted independently, the study was funded by Apple.
In addition, the demographic of the participants was quite narrow. The study conducted had 99% male participants, though this can be attributed to the fact that they were from the Palo Alto Veteran Affairs Hospital.
Also, the 6MWT is now a built-in feature of the Apple Watch, making the usage of the VasTrac app unnecessary.
Home-Based Health Assessment Is More Important Than Ever
In the COVID-19 era, people with CVD are one of the most at-risk groups. Unnecessary visits to the clinic may increase their chances of exposure to the coronavirus. In this regard, studies show that wearables could help detect COVID-19 as well.
Apple CEO, Tim Cook has also said that wearable tech is the future of Apple, with the company’s wearable sales exceeding that of the iPod at its peak.
The results from the Stanford study clearly show that wearables such as the Apple Watch are the future when it comes to accessing risks such as CVD.
The researchers from Stanford concluded that assessments from the Apple Watch provide “clinically accurate and meaningful insights,” making CVD patients’ lives much easier.