Samsung's Galaxy Watch sleep apnea feature approved by FDA

It's Monday, February 12, 2024.

The Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to a sleep apnea detection feature on Galaxy Watch devices in the US. It has already picked up approval in South Korea, but Samsung says this is the first approval of its kind in the US.

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects around 25 percent of men and a tenth of women in the US, according to the National Sleep Foundation. And it can get serious. Left untreated, it can increase the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

With the feature, people over 22 who have not been diagnosed with the condition can check for signs of sleep apnea using their smartwatch and phone. It looks for signs of moderate-to-severe OSA over a two-night monitoring period. To use the feature, users must track their sleep for more than four hours twice over ten days.

Samsung plans to add the sleep apnea monitoring tool to compatible Galaxy Watch wearables in the third quarter of 2024.

— Mat Smith

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