(2019-02-04) Can Wearables Detect Sleep Apnea Apple Fitbit Garmin Explained

Can Wearables Detect Sleep Apnea? Apple, Fitbit, & Garmin Explained. The reference standard for the diagnosis of Sleep Apnea remains cardiorespiratory polysomnography (CP), which is a multi-parametric sleep study of heart and lung functions. However, the testing capabilities of HSAT devices have been getting more accurate and specific to Sleep Apnea. The SCOPER scheme has been developed to evaluate and categorize HSAT systems by validating the most important functions for diagnosing Sleep Apnea.

The latest Forerunner and Vivoactive line of Garmin sports watches have features that allow them to monitor Sleep Apnea once the user applies a software update

Fitbit watches have provided wearers with sleep readings broken down into light, deep and REM stages since 2017. Diagnosing sleep apnea with a Fitbit requires heart rate sensors, aggregated data, and proprietary algorithms to interpret sleep patterns. Fitbit’s latest Ionic watch has a new sensor that detects oxygen levels