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Is the Apple Watch a Useful Medical Device? (Video)
Let's kill the suspense right away by answering the title question, 'Probably not.' For one thing, according to interviewee Alfred Poor, the Apple Watch is in no way linked to the Apple Research Kit. Dr. Poor is editor of the Health Tech Insider website, so he follows this kind of thing more carefully than most people. And the Apple watch is not the only device mentioned in this video (or transcript, if you prefer reading to listening). If you want to ruminate about the possibility of direct mind control, for instance, you need to know about the Thync, whose vendor calls it 'A groundbreaking wearable device that enables you to shift your state of mind in minutes.' They say it 'induces on-demand shifts in energy, calm, or focus.' It even has a 'pleasure' setting. Crank that to 11 and you might happily spend your days prone, being fed by a drip and emptied by a catheter, moving only when an attendant turns you over to keep bedsores from developing -- not that you'll care if they do -- as you spend the rest of your life in an artificially-induced joyful stupor.
We know that Apple has 1000's of Medical related applications but they have an issues of accuracy..
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Current iteration as far as I am aware does not run apps natively, it is just a front end for your phone. In a generation or two of the API (hardware does not need to be updated) this will be addressed and we'll see.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
See how easy that was? Next question.
No, it is not.
If so, then it should never be used for medical purposes. Medicine requires *real* software.
Eat a dick straight up DICE
This article is just a disguised advertisement for the bullshit "Thync" device.
Selling people homeopathy wasn't enough, now there are medical devices. That Thync thing looks like pure snake oil. Unless you walk around with it strapped to just the right spot on your head.
The Apple watch will revolutionize medicine. It will also revolutionize every other aspect of daily life for billions of people. The Apple watch is going to fundamentally alter the very meaning of what it means to be a human being living in the 21'st century.
I've seen a few talks from Stephen Friend. I was at the Research Data Alliance meeting, and he gave one of the plenary talks the day after Apple unveiled the device, and announced Research Kit (which he's involved with).
He mentioned that less than 24hrs after its release, they already had more Parkinsons patients signed up than any published study on the disease.
If the watch can get *any* sort of medically useful data, I'm all for it, especially as so many people have been designating that their data can be used by any qualified researcher. (yes, there will still have to be IRBs to approve research at most institutions, and I assume some sort of gatekeepers from Sage Bionetworks to determine who gets access to the data). ... but the fact that we might be able to get medical data at a scale never before seen is huge. And we might get a wider slice of the population, not just college students or from a limited geographic area that might not be applicable to the larger population.
(disclaimer : I did not watch the video. I usually read the articles before commenting (I know, that's against this site's standards) ... if the person has a legitimate argument to make, post it so I can read it)
Build it, and they will come^Hplain.
This makes it very different from regular apple products that are geared to everyone.
But the real problem is that "Apple Watch" is basically VAPORWARE right now. They announced the general program, but without enough details. No one knows what it is so no one has any business even asking if it is a medical device, let alone a useful one.
excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
Even after reading his bio I'm unsure why I'd care about what he thinks.
Any patient wearing one is stating clearly they have no common sense or concept of the value of a dollar. As such they can overbill them without worrying about being called out on it.
I haven't seen one, I think they're expensive, and I don't know exactly what they can do, but here's some presumptuous answers to your softball leading questions.
"Win treats sysadmins better than users. Mac treats users better than sysadmins. Linux treats everyone like sysadmins."
Medical devices are very stringently regulated by the FDA. The Apple Watch is a consumer device, end of discussion ... unless Apple applies to the FDA for approval of the device including it's manufacturing process and locations.
I'm pretty sure you don't understand what vaporware is.
Apple watch's medical features are a handy excuse to self-justify buying it... I am fine with it, I justified buying a PS3 for myself back in the day by saying "heck, I needed a blu-ray player anyway."
But we all know it is suspension of disbelief, and no serious consideration.
I'm pretty sure that the above comment has never been made about anything that actually did turn out to be vapor ware.
Is the Apple Watch a Useful Medical Device?
No.
Next question please.
Short answer: no.
A Fitbit, on the other hand...
"Nine times out of ten, starting a fire is not the best way to solve the problem." - my wife
Has Apple registered with the FDA? http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/HowtoMarketYourDevice/RegistrationandListing/ucm053165.htm
Has it gone through other testing or approval required of medical devices?
Seems unlikely, so stop calling it a medical device.
It is fancy watch computer. I had a Casio one as a kid that did math, the Apple one does more math and is a lot faster. Big deal.
Have you guys read this guys twitter feed? I'm sure for some reason he will think android wear has a good shot at it. /my god
Thanks Dicedot
TL;DR: If you need to constantly monitor your heart rate it can be useful as any heart rate "Medical" device short of EKG.
I'm getting one for my Dad. He currently has a fluttering heart valve, which makes his heart less effective, and causes his heart rate to nearly double to attain the same level of blood oxygen. His resting heart rate is between 100-130 bpm, and that's not good for longevity. While the doctors try and sort out what surgery to try next, he's been told to try and keep his heart rate low using medication. However, if it gets too low, he gets light headed, and can't go up stairs, so they are experimenting with a good value that keeps his heart rate in a specific range.
I'll be writing him an app that lets him know when to take medication to slow his heart rate.
Yes, it's not medically sound, and I wouldn't use it for someone who might sue... but it's better than the "Medical" apparatus and procedure we have been given.
- Holy crap, I've got MOD points! Who thought that was a good idea.
I missed where they questioned how well any of the other watches will work as a medical device? I've seen lots of crowing about how Apple is overpriced and late to the dance, but funny how we don't see anyone set the bar as high for those?
Tomorrows article: Is Apple Watch a Useful anti-hemoroidal device? Will it reverse hair loss? (Or should we just hate it now and get it over with)
The premise is rediculous.
>" And the Apple watch is not the only device mentioned in this video (or transcript, if you prefer reading to listening)."
Then why is the title of the summary just "Apple Watch" instead of "Smart Watch"? Especially when there are already lots of non-Apple smart watches with motion sensing, heart rate monitoring, step counters, etc, already on peoples' wrists and have been for coming up on a year....
smart phone, not iphone
smart watch, not apple watch
tablet, not ipad
mp3 player, not ipod
And the first iPhone wasn't a massive advertising application computing platform like it is today.
It's blatantly obvious that ResearchKit, HealthKit, and HomeKit are geared around iPhone and the iWatch, even if not connected today. Even the smart people are stupid sometimes I guess...