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Apple Watch Can Detect An Abnormal Heart Rhythm With 97 Percent Accuracy, UCSF Study Says (techcrunch.com)
According to a study conducted through heartbeat measurement app Cardiogram and the University of California, San Francisco, the Apple Watch is 97 percent accurate in detecting the most common abnormal heart rhythm when paired with an AI-based algorithm. TechCrunch reports: The study involved 6,158 participants recruited through the Cardiogram app on Apple Watch. Most of the participants in the UCSF Health eHeart study had normal EKG readings. However, 200 of them had been diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (an abnormal heartbeat). Engineers then trained a deep neural network to identify these abnormal heart rhythms from Apple Watch heart rate data. Cardiogram began the study with UCSF in 2016 to discover whether the Apple Watch could detect an oncoming stroke. About a quarter of strokes are caused by an abnormal heart rhythm, according to Cardiogram co-founder and data scientist for UCSF's eHeart study Brandon Ballinger. Cardiogram tested the deep neural network it had built against 51 in-hospital cardioversions (a procedure that restores the heart's normal rhythm) and says it achieved a 97 percent accuracy in the neural network's ability to find irregular heart activity. Additional information available via a Cardiogram blog post.
The intercom next to the front door buzzed, and Jerry Seinfeld got up from his couch, walked across his neat one-bedroom apartment, and pushed the talk button.
"Who is it?"
"It's George."
"Come on up." Jerry buzzed George in, unlocked the door, and then sat back down to continue channel surfing, his favorite leisure activity.
George Costanza came in and plopped down next to him.
"How's it going, Jerry?"
"Not bad, Georgie. What brings you by?" This was more or less a rhetorical question, since George dropped by almost every day after work for no particular reason other than habit, and Jerry wasn't expecting much of a reply.
But George heaved a deep sigh and said, "I want to ask you something, Jerry."
"Shoot."
"When's the last time you got laid? If you don't mind my asking, of course."
Jerry tore his eyes away from the TV and gave George a surprised look.
"When's the last time I got laid?? You came over here to ask me that?"
"I'll tell you the last time I got laid, Jerry." A few moments of silence. "Actually, I can't even remember, which just proves my point. I'm horny, dammit. My basic male needs are not being met."
Jerry shifted a few inches along the couch away from his friend.
"Well, I can't help you there, I'm afraid."
"Don't be ridiculous, Jerry. I haven't seen you dating anyone lately, and I thought maybe you had the same problem I did. Misery loves company, you know."
Jerry thought about it. The truth was, he hadn't had any sex in months either.
"You know, now that you mention it, it's been a while for me too." He shook his head sadly. "You hit the nail on the head - It really is a basic male need, isn't it?"
George nodded. "If only it was also a basic female need, then we wouldn't have this problem. Some people say that women need sex, but I certainly haven't seen much evidence of it."
The intercom buzzed again, and Jerry heaved himself back up off the couch with a sigh.
"Who is it?"
"It's Elaine."
"Come on up."
Jerry sat back down. "She's been coming over here every day after her workout to use my shower," he said. "They installed those low-flow shower heads at her health club."
George shook his head. "How do you like that," he said absently. As a general rule, he preferred to concentrate on his own problems.
"Not very much actually, but what can you do."
Elaine Benes came into the apartment and dropped an enormous gym bag on the floor with a loud thump. She was wearing a tight spandex leotard under a pair of running shorts, and her long brown hair was pulled back by a sweatband. Sweat evaporating from her leotard had caused localized cooling, and her nipples were poking through the spandex.
"Hi Jerry, hi George."
Elaine walked over to the refrigerator, took out a carton of milk, and began drinking like someone who had been lost in the desert for a week. Milk dribbled out of the corner of her mouth, down her throat, and into the cleavage of her leotard. Finally, she lowered the carton and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"God, I needed that."
She noticed that Jerry and George were staring at her.
"What?" She looked at the empty carton in her hand. "Oh, sorry about the milk. I'll bring you some more tomorrow."
"It's not that," said Jerry finally. "You've got a little milk..." He motioned to his chin.
"Oh, thanks." She wiped her chin with her hand, and then did the same thing to her neck and the upper part of her chest. As she licked the last drops of milk off her fingers, she noticed that they were staring at her again.
"What's with you guys?"
"Nothing, really," said Jerry.
"No, come on - you're both staring at me with funny looks on your faces. What's going on? What were you talking about before I came up?"
Elaine was one of those women who couldn't stand to be left out of a conversation, and Jerry knew she wouldn't be satisfied