[Click! Health] "Obstructive Sleep Apnea Diagnosable with 'Smart Watch'"

Professor Jueun Yeon of Samsung Seoul Hospital and Samsung Electronics MX Division Joint Research Team
Comparative Analysis of Oxygen Saturation Measurement Accuracy of Galaxy Watch4
Meets FDA and ISO Performance Standards... 90% Prediction Accuracy for Sleep Apnea
"Will Greatly Aid Patient Prognosis Management"

Galaxy Watch4 Oxygen Saturation Measurement.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that wearable devices such as smartwatches can help diagnose obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Professor Joo Eun-yeon of Neurology at Samsung Medical Center, Professor Kim Dong-yeop of Neurology at Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, and a joint research team from Samsung Electronics MX Division announced on the 25th that they verified the accuracy of oxygen saturation measurement of Samsung Electronics' 'Galaxy Watch4' and confirmed this.

The Galaxy Watch4 is equipped with a reflective pulse oximeter module that touches the skin on the wrist under the device to measure peripheral blood oxygen saturation. The research team tested 97 patients aged 13 to 44, comparing the oxygen saturation measurements of the Galaxy Watch4 with those of a conventional finger pulse oximeter to determine the accuracy of the Galaxy Watch4.

As a result, continuous and accurate measurement of blood oxygen concentration was possible with the Galaxy Watch4, and the oxygen saturation values obtained from both devices were very similar. Except for cases where the wearable device did not properly contact the wrist and thus could not measure oxygen saturation, the root mean square error between the two devices was 2.28%, meeting the performance standards required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, below 3.5%) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO, below 4%). The average error was -0.16% compared to the conventional pulse oximeter, indicating high accuracy.

Additionally, when predicting the presence of moderate or higher obstructive sleep apnea by calculating the number of times oxygen saturation decreased as measured by the Galaxy Watch4, the sensitivity was 90% and accuracy was 80%, showing the potential to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea.

Obstructive sleep apnea is the most common sleep breathing disorder, with a prevalence rate among Korean adults of 4.5% in men and 3.2% in women. If sleep apnea persists long-term, insufficient sleep can cause memory impairment, decreased judgment, depression, and is also associated with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, making early diagnosis and treatment important.

Professor Joo Eun-yeon said, “With the help of smartwatches, it is possible to easily measure oxygen saturation during sleep, detect apnea problems early, and provide treatment. This will greatly help prevent cerebrovascular and cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders related to sleep breathing disorders.”

This study was published in the recent issue of 'Sleep Health,' a prestigious sleep medicine journal of the National Sleep Foundation in the United States.