Rumor: 'watchOS 7' could help Apple Watch detect panic attacks
Apple is supposedly developing new mental health features for the Apple Watch line that allow the wearable to detect panic attacks, with the capability potentially slated for launch with a next-generation "watchOS 7" this fall.
According to serial leaker Jon Prosser, who appeared on the "Geared Up" podcast this week, Apple is working on a new Apple Watch hardware and software function that can recognize panic attacks.
The system will use a new blood oxygen sensor, coupled with specialized software, to detect when a user is hyperventilating, Prosser said. Hyperventilation, an elevated heart rate and shortness of breath are symptoms of panic attacks that can be quantified by existing or rumored Watch hardware.
"They can take the oxygen levels in your blood, with your heart rate, and determine if you're hyperventilating," Prosser said of Apple's project. "They can identify a panic attack before it happens and warn you on your watch. Especially if you're driving, they'll ask you to pull over and they'll offer breathing exercises once you get pulled over. It's incredible."
Whether the hardware will be sensitive enough to alert users to a panic attack before it occurs remains unclear.
Prosser "hopes" the feature will be introduced at WWDC 2020 in June, though Apple might hold off an announcement until a new Apple Watch debuts this fall. Alternatively, it could be a 2021 release. The method is unlikely to see an unveiling at WWDC in watchOS 7 if it relies on unreleased hardware, though there is a possibility that the system pulls data from existing Apple Watch sensors.
Apple Watch's plethysmograph heart rate sensor technology, which debuted with the first Watch model in 2015, is technically capable of measuring blood oxygen levels. Why the company has not elected to take advantage of the ability is not known, but the decision could be related to system accuracy or regulatory approval.
Prosser's claims expand on reports in March that pegged Apple to integrate a working blood oxygen sensor and updated ECG hardware in a so-called "Apple Watch Series 6" device later this year. A supposed leak last week hinted at the inclusion of a pulse oximeter and the ability to detect "mental health abnormalities."
According to serial leaker Jon Prosser, who appeared on the "Geared Up" podcast this week, Apple is working on a new Apple Watch hardware and software function that can recognize panic attacks.
The system will use a new blood oxygen sensor, coupled with specialized software, to detect when a user is hyperventilating, Prosser said. Hyperventilation, an elevated heart rate and shortness of breath are symptoms of panic attacks that can be quantified by existing or rumored Watch hardware.
"They can take the oxygen levels in your blood, with your heart rate, and determine if you're hyperventilating," Prosser said of Apple's project. "They can identify a panic attack before it happens and warn you on your watch. Especially if you're driving, they'll ask you to pull over and they'll offer breathing exercises once you get pulled over. It's incredible."
Whether the hardware will be sensitive enough to alert users to a panic attack before it occurs remains unclear.
Prosser "hopes" the feature will be introduced at WWDC 2020 in June, though Apple might hold off an announcement until a new Apple Watch debuts this fall. Alternatively, it could be a 2021 release. The method is unlikely to see an unveiling at WWDC in watchOS 7 if it relies on unreleased hardware, though there is a possibility that the system pulls data from existing Apple Watch sensors.
Apple Watch's plethysmograph heart rate sensor technology, which debuted with the first Watch model in 2015, is technically capable of measuring blood oxygen levels. Why the company has not elected to take advantage of the ability is not known, but the decision could be related to system accuracy or regulatory approval.
Prosser's claims expand on reports in March that pegged Apple to integrate a working blood oxygen sensor and updated ECG hardware in a so-called "Apple Watch Series 6" device later this year. A supposed leak last week hinted at the inclusion of a pulse oximeter and the ability to detect "mental health abnormalities."
Comments
Fortunately, Apple has a greater sense of responsibility than you.
If you instead view if from the perspective of a serious debilitating problem, and not a sort of manageable inconvenience, then saying what you said is basically the same as saying that getting a notification about having a heart attack would be bad, because it'd give you a heart attack getting it. Which obviously would be a joke.
But when talking about "panic attacks", then the relatable thing would be the "panic attacks" that we talk about colloquially; which is as far from a real debilitating problem as a colloquially talked about "heart attack" (as in a minor scare).
There's also a matter of scale here… On the lesser side of "panic attack" your watch could simply ask you to do breathing exercises; and on the more serious side of things we have that if the watch can recognise a proper panic attack, then it can use that data to better differentiate between that and what actually is a potentially deadly physical problem (like a heart attack).
So, hey, this is absolutely a bit of a pet peeve for me, but there's also a serious side to it; and I think that it'd be a good thing if more people realised the good that a "panic attack-detector" could do in their watches. It might just be the thing that makes it possible for the watch to one day call an ambulance because it with close to 100% certainty detects you dying.
From comments I've seen on a medical forum SpO2 levels are not a great way to predict or diagnose CoVid-19 as it drops fairly late in the process because the body marshals multiple compensatory processes in order to keep blood oxygen levels normal. So, SpO2 only drops late in the process. Heart rate is one of those compensatory changes that take place. So, measuring changes in heart rate (presumably resting heart rate) seems to be more predictive and has even been proposed as a means of monitoring the spread of the virus into and through a region.
That's not to say that SpO2 is worthless or shouldn't be monitored -- actually I check and record mine as well as my temperature and resting heart rate everyday. (If nothing else its reassuring to see 99-100% pop-up on the screen.)
The slippery slope that Apple has to navigate here is how to cross line between health data acquisition/symptom identification and medical condition diagnosis. So far they seem to be doing a pretty good job of recognizing that there is a necessary handoff process to go from the identification of potential symptoms and the need to engage medical professionals. As Apple goes deeper and broader in their health data acquisition coverage they’ll have to get even more buy-in and acceptance from the medical community. They’ll also have to make sure that Apple Watch customers do not view these devices as a replacement or alternative to engaging a medical professional. Getting the buy-in and acceptance from the medical community and an understanding from users that the Apple Watch is a supplement and not a replacement for their personal health management regimen is very critical. I would not be surprised if, at some point, your doctor can write you a prescription for an Apple Watch, perhaps in connection with the watch uploading data to a site where it can be reviewed by your doctor. Maybe they’ll be a “Med” version of the Apple Watch that has live data linking?