Samsung’s Galaxy Watch range does an excellent job of tracking what’s going on inside your body, but it could be doing more. The South Korean company recently published a study showing that its Galaxy Watch 6 can predict, with about five minutes’ notice, when a wearer is about to faint.
Galaxy Watch’s faint echoes
That’s a handy feature to have, since it gives people a chance to get a) help, b) a softer place to land, or c) the car pulled over, so there’s no additional traffic complication. The catch is that getting your “prediction of vasovagal syncope” on your wrist might take some time.
Initially spotted by Android Police, Samsung’s joint study with the Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital reckons that the Watch 6 has an 84.6% accuracy rate when it comes to predicting fainting. The notice period is up to five minutes before everything goes grey and you wake up on the floor.
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The function isn’t ready for prime time, though. The wearable is only part of the process. It includes an additional photoplethysmography sensor, something that isn’t part of the company’s devices. Yet, we suppose. There’s also no sign that Samsung is actively developing this function for its commercial range of smartwatches. It would be handy to have, given how random a vasovagal syncope episode can be.
Samsung’s Jongmin Choi said, “This study is an example of how wearable technology can help shift healthcare from being designed for ‘post-care’ to a model of ‘preventive care.’ We are committed to driving technological innovation that empowers our users to lead healthier everyday lives.”
