More than just Apple Watch: health and technology

Not only the measuring instruments in the hospital, the clinical thermometer in the doctor's practice or the X-ray machine in orthodontics represent technology on behalf of medicine. With the Apple Watch, the technology giant from Cupertino has created an end-user device that users and their doctors can use / inside gives an insight into different data. From the pulse to the oxygen concentration in the blood to the EKG, a lot is now possible. In addition to the Apple Watch, there are numerous fitness trackers in watch format. And in addition to these, there are smart headbands for meditation, step-counting smartphones and much, much more.

How the Apple Watch helps your health

"The Apple Watch has powerful apps that make it the perfect device for a healthy lifestyle," says the official Website to the device related to healthcare use. The first point made in support of the statement is the heart rate messages. These are output if the Apple Watch detects irregularities or values ​​that are permanently too high or too low while checking the pulse in the background. "This can alert doctors and their patients to situations that warrant further investigation," it says. At keynotes, Apple repeatedly points out cases in which users have been "saved" by such messages.

From the Apple Watch Series 4, ECGs are also possible. Especially if a problem with the heart rate is suspected or a message is issued, an EKG can be created. This then helps the treating doctors to make a diagnosis more quickly. The ECG data do not have to be shown to the practitioner on the watch or on the iPhone. They can also be output as a PDF including the time and other data. Last but not least, this is useful when the data is to be sent by email - now in the coronavirus pandemic, this is even more helpful than usual, as contacts can be avoided.

Also since the Apple Watch Series 4, a new acceleration sensor and a new gyroscope have been installed in the Apple company's smartwatch. These components make it possible to detect a fall, so that if a fall is detected, the option to call the emergency service is automatically shown on the display. "If the user does not react for about a minute, an emergency call is automatically started and the emergency contacts of the user receive a message," says the page linked above. Of course, it is important to set emergency contacts here. The watch also has the option of storing the most important (medical) data in an "emergency passport".

In addition to physical health, mental health is also an important field. Here, for example, those offers can be used that are intended to reduce stress. So meditation aids in the form of technology or apps. But the possibility of using a therapy offer via telephony, chat, video calls or the like is also important. There is an interesting article entitled "Therapy And Counseling: A New Age Of Technology Approaches" on BetterHelp. If you want to take a look just click here.

Other forms of health technology

In addition to all the smart devices of recent years, we like to forget those health technology that has been used for a long time to monitor, increase or maintain the quality of life. This can include electronic wheelchairs as well as oxygen machines. In addition, there is the implementation of smart home elements in the home to make life with physical impairments easier. As far as wearables are concerned, there were interesting ideas at CES 2020, for example: a smart belt, for example, or pajamas that should be used for even better sleep monitoring than with a smartwatch and smartphone. So the topic remains exciting for the future.

Jen Kleinholz( Founder & Sir Apfelot )

Jens has been running the blog since 2012. He appears as Sir Apfelot for his readers and helps them with problems of a technical nature. In his free time he drives electric unicycles, takes photos (preferably with his iPhone, of course), climbs around in the Hessian mountains or hikes with the family. His articles deal with Apple products, news from the world of drones or solutions for current bugs.