Smartwatch manufacturers have been trying to impress customers with better and better features from one model to the next, in particular when it comes to analyzing body attributes. Whether it’s heart rate, sleep quality, stress level or blood oxygenation.
The manufacturers are careful to state that they only provide indicative data for some functions, but many curious people might wonder how accurate the data is.
A study published in the American journal Sleep Health has compared the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 with certified medical devices in terms of measuring blood oxygenation, or SpO2.
In the experiment, which consisted of testing about a hundred volunteers, researchers examined the watch’s ability to help in cases of sleep apnea syndrome (OSA). The findings showed that there were very little differences between the watch measurements and the traditional device.
“The accuracy of the GW4 meets FDA and ISO standards. The main strength of this study is that it evaluated the performance of wrist-worn reflex pulse oximetry in measuring SpO2 in patients with sleep apnea and in some patients with profound desaturation,” the study review reads, among other things.
In practice, the result means that the Samsung Galaxy Watch4 would be considered a high quality device suitable for patients suffering from OSA or other conditions that need detailed monitoring of blood oxygenation during sleep.
Which health metrics do you track on your watch? Let us know in the comments section below!
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