Fed up of the interminable wait for a doctor’s appointment?
A new smartwatch claims to be the first on the market to offer an instant health check-up in just 60 seconds.
Users need only to tap on the side of the Huawei Watch 5 with their fingertip and the device will take a reading of 10 important health signs.
The controversial Chinese firm claims the results are up to 50 times more precise than rival smartwatches that take the readings from the wrist.
Capillaries – the tiny blood vessels devices use to measure our vital signs – are much more dense and closer to the skin in the finger than the wrist.
Users are recommended to take a minute-long daily ‘health glance’, with the device able to flag up if a visit to the GP is actually needed.
The new X-Tap technology in the £399 watch provides metrics on oxygen levels, heart rate, stress, skin temperature, and deliver a basic electrocardiogram (ECG).
It further analyses respiratory health, sleep breathing disturbances, and arterial stiffness, where arteries become less flexible and significant marker linked to high blood pressure and heart diseases.
Users need only to tap on the side of the Huawei Watch 5 with their fingertip and the device will take a reading of 10 important health signs
Users are recommended to take a minute-long daily ‘health glance’, with the device able to flag up if a visit to the GP is actually needed
The billion-pound smartwatch industry is incredibly competitive, with Apple dominating the market and Samsung, Garmin, and Fitbit among the other major players.
Their ability to give detailed health data has been one of the main drivers in their adoption, from heart rate tracking and sleep analysis to stress management.
Similar features to the new Huawei smartwatch are offered by competitors Apple and Samsung, but the Chinese firm is the first to provide them all in a single, one tap test.
The company claims by using the finger it increases the signal quality ten to 50 times better compared to wrist based sensors, though this is not independently verified.
Speaking at the event, Professor Panicos Kyriacou, director of the biomedical engineering research centre at City, University of London, said the smartwatch was ‘unlocking a more accurate, faster and more complete and comprehensive health monitoring experience’.
Most of the medical grade pulse oximeters – which measures a person’s oxygen saturation levels – used the finger because it was an ‘extremely vascular area well perfused with lots of blood flow’, he said.
‘We have seen the importance of blood oxygen saturation in the times of COVID,’ he said, adding the feature would be particularly important for people with respiratory difficulties and heart failure.
The smartwatch is further able to give a blood pressure reading, though it is not medical grade. However Prof Kyriacou said: the measurement would give enough ‘reliable data’ to inform the user if they have hypertension – high blood pressure – and need to see their GP.
The new X-Tap technology in the £399 watch provides metrics on oxygen levels, heart rate, stress, skin temperature, and deliver a basic electrocardiogram
Unveiling the watch, Andreas Zimmer, head of product at Huawei, said: ‘For the very first time, we have integrated PPG, ECG, and a tactile sensor into an all-in-one sensing module on the side of a smartwatch, working seamlessly with the sensors on the back.’
‘You might wonder, why put the sensors on the side? Well, because in some scenarios, readings from the fingertips are significantly stronger and more clear. For example, blood oxygen, which you r doctor will measure at the fingertip.
‘Now for the very first time, we are bringing this principle into a smart watch,. With a gentle touch of the X-Tap, you’ll get a blood oxygen reading in just ten seconds comparable to traditional fingertip pulse oximeters.’
In the US, the relationship has continued to deteriorate – with President Donald Trump warning companies around the world they could face criminal penalties if they used Huawei’s AI chips.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .