Tech Desk 
Sep 16, 2024
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published clearance of sleep apnea detection on newer Apple Watch models.
Sleep apnea is a serious disorder in which a person’s breathing continuously stops and starts while they sleep.
Earlier, the Cupertino-based tech giant unveiled that sleep apnea detection would be offered on the Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Series 9, and Apple Watch Ultra 2 in the United States (US) and more than 150 other countries and regions later this month.
Apple's fine print said that the feature is meant to detect signs of moderate to severe sleep apnea for people 18 or older who have not already been diagnosed with sleep apnea.
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According to Apple, "the sleep apnea detection feature utilises the Apple Watch's accelerometer to "monitor small movements at the wrist that are associated with interruptions in normal respiratory patterns." If these disturbances occur continuously over multiple nights, they may be associated with sleep apnea.
Apple Watch users can see their nightly Breathing Disturbances in the Health app on the iPhone, with disturbances classified as "elevated" or "not elevated."
Apple claimed that the feature was designed utilising "advanced machine learning" and an "extensive data set of clinical-grade sleep apnea tests," and then validated in a "clinical study."
