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The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

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Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Machines to diagnose apnea have lots of sensors including electrodes, "chest-band" pulsometers, and "saturationmeters". It seems like a fallacy to claim that since diagnosis required complicated equipment in the past, that it will be necessary going forward. Machine learning is going to make tons of current diagnostic equipment look archaic in comparison. > I have asked doctors about capabilities of smart devices f…

> It seems like a fallacy to claim that since diagnosis required complicated equipment in the past, that it will be necessary going forward. Machine learning is going to make tons of current diagnostic equipment look archaic in comparison. As someone sais below "ML is not going to replace raw input from sensors." > Medical doctors are rarely up to date on the latest technology. I wouldn't be surprised if my doctor ha…

While I understand and mostly agree with your general sentiment, I think you're downplaying the extent of how valuable the machine learning is in this process. The reason why we need all these sensors and machines currently is because we need a reasonable picture of how all that data works together so that a human being can look at that picture as a whole and make some deductions.

This isn't the first time or the last time that computers have been able to find patterns in much simpler measurements simply because they're not human. A similar example, although not quite as advanced, is the ability for a computer to extract sound information from a black and white video. Computers have been able to recreate sounds from behind double-paned glass by analyzing vibrations captured through videos. Humans have had to rely on various arrays of lasers, sonar, and other directional instruments to get 1/10th of the accuracy that a computer algorithm has been able to achieve from a simple, low-quality video camera. The point is that more machines and sensors doesn't always equal a better diagnosis. Better analysis of existing sensors and tech, even if it seems to be lower fidelity, can actually yield more accurate results.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#172
post #73

The only downside to the Apple Watch in my book is the short battery life which should theoretically make it impractical for sleep tracking. I was recently stupefied to discover Nokia Steel [1] and how virtually unknown it is to the general public, my former self included. It comes with great design, no bullshit digital screen, the usual tracking features, and most importantly seems like it's a return to form for Nok…

Damn, their app ia simple and beautiful - I wish fitbit or garmin connect would work like this!

Also, Garmin, you do 24/7 fitness tracking but still no smart alarm after years?

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#174
post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that the technology (and data) from cases like yours will make building either dedicated software or hardware for your case cheaper.

My snarky reply: "It's too bad I have to pay for the priviledge of being included in a data set used for product refinement." Also: no. When I was working as an intern at St. Jude Medical we were training neural networks to recognize heart conditions and adjust other measurements. It was 2002. That work was later published and widely adopted. Modern medical hardware can account for it (inexpensive or older hardware o…

Adapting your model from 2002 is not a trivial operation. Apple and others are building Machine learning platforms that make that work easier but saying that you worked on it, therefore it should be done by others comes off as a little naive about software integration. Going through other people’s code is not instant or trivial.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#175
post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple has been aggressively branding as the company that does not need to sell your data because their margins on hardware allow them to. It might not always be the case but they can future-proof that claim by keeping that data on your device or protect it using differential privacy. What might happen if health plans become habitually based on tracking (which I expect will be the case) is that having an Apple watch (…

Typical PR spin-doctored hogwash. They don't need it, arguably, but they sure as hell want it, as evidenced by: 1. The extremely lucrative market of personal data 2. Their continued collection of such personal data

The lucrative market is for advertising placement which demands that you don’t sell the data that you have (otherwise the targetting that you provide is no longer unique).

Some company do sell the data they have behind the scene (Experian is one of them) but there are few buyers, those buyers can tell their data is of bad quality and they have competitors with similar data, so it is hardly lucrative.

As far as I can tell, Apple’s efforts to make articles readable by removing JS-embeds a while ago, encrypt iMessage, fight the FBI about weakening their security or to fight against cross-site cookies more recently, all that seems both real and representative of how they value their product. I have not seen crowds ask for differential privacy and yet they spend precious time in their recent keynotes about it.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely agree; I wore my watch series 3 (no cell) all day yesterday, tracked sleep last night, and this morning I still have 65% battery left. I quick charge while I shower in the morning is all it's needed and I'm blown away by how long it lasts. (I had a Pebble Time previously.)

I also have a Series 3. What app do you use to track sleep? I'm using AutoSleep, but it seems to really overestimate the time I'm actually asleep, and as far as I can tell it doesn't take into account tossing/turning during the night (either that, or I'm getting way better sleep than I think I'm getting).

You can tweak its sensitivity +/- dramatically, even for the past night, in the Tweak tab in the app. That did it for me.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also have a Series 3. What app do you use to track sleep? I'm using AutoSleep, but it seems to really overestimate the time I'm actually asleep, and as far as I can tell it doesn't take into account tossing/turning during the night (either that, or I'm getting way better sleep than I think I'm getting).

You can tweak its sensitivity +/- dramatically, even for the past night, in the Tweak tab in the app. That did it for me.

I'll try that. Thanks for the tip!

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This perception of low battery life has really lasted from the first apple watch. It was the reason, along with that it wasn't water proof enough for me, that I didn't get the first one. I wear my apple watch 2 all day, sleep in it, and charge it in the time I'm getting ready in the morning. that's all it needs and it never runs out of battery.

With my Pebble Time I can travel for a week and not even bring the charging cable. Still disappointed that they went under.

with my Apple Watch I am more physically fit.

And I can leave my phone in my pocket and still not miss anything important. Improved focus.

And I don't have to put my phone under my freaking pillow to get my alarm to go off at the right time.

And I also have a night-light on my wrist, which is super useful when I gotta get up and take a pee or something.

Only need to take it off when I wake up for about half an hour. While I shower and what not. Works for me.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's certainly possible, though I have noticed more quirky behavior than just this - the stand goal was just the most amusing one to me and that is why I posted that particular one here. I sometimes meet the exercise goal on a very sedentary day, while I don't meet it when I vigorously exercise, etc. I have a two story house and I climb and descend the steps probably 15+ times per day, yet for the current week , it…

When I work from home I have a standing desk, and it looks like the watch does not pick me as standing, so I almost never reach the standing goal there

It's not about whether you've been on your feet. It's about whether you've been moving that hour. The health benefit comes from moving on your feet every hour. When you're standing still for an hour you might as well be sitting.

Re: The Apple Watch can detect hypertension and sleep apnea, a new study suggests

#180
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My snarky reply: "It's too bad I have to pay for the priviledge of being included in a data set used for product refinement." Also: no. When I was working as an intern at St. Jude Medical we were training neural networks to recognize heart conditions and adjust other measurements. It was 2002. That work was later published and widely adopted. Modern medical hardware can account for it (inexpensive or older hardware o…

Adapting your model from 2002 is not a trivial operation. Apple and others are building Machine learning platforms that make that work easier but saying that you worked on it, therefore it should be done by others comes off as a little naive about software integration. Going through other people’s code is not instant or trivial.

I'm saying Apple's system fails to catch edge cases that prior ML systems, system using a tiny fraction of the computing power and ultimately based off animal data, achieved.

I think the job they're doing is unimpressive. I think it's doubly impressive to imply I have to buy a watch to help them. I don't see why they wouldn't pay me for my unique data. I don't need or want to help them build a shoddy diagnosis product.

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