Health Canada has given the green light to Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature for watchOS 11, available on the Apple Watch Series 10, Series 9, and Ultra 2 models. This approval comes after the feature’s launch in the United States and over 150 other countries earlier this month.
The feature utilizes the watch’s accelerometer to monitor subtle wrist movements associated with breathing disturbances during sleep. Frequent occurrences of these disturbances over multiple nights may indicate sleep apnea, a serious disorder indicated by repeated interruptions in breathing during sleep.
This feature has been checked in medical studies. It’s designed to notice if adults who haven’t been diagnosed before might have a common sleep problem. People can check their breathing issues from last night on their iPhone’s Health app, which will tell them if their breathing was “elevated” or “normal.”
If signs of sleep apnea are detected, the Apple Watch notifies the user, providing information on when the possible sleep apnea occurred, educational materials about treatment importance, and a PDF with three months of breathing disturbance data for healthcare provider consultation.
Sleep apnea affects over one billion people worldwide and often goes undiagnosed. Early detection could lead to improved health outcomes for many users.
More here.