Samsung announces new app to measure blood pressure: Details here
What's the story
In a major development, Samsung has announced a new health app to help its customers measure and track their blood pressure.
The solution is said to have been approved by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and will be working with the Galaxy Watch Active2 and all upcoming Samsung smartwatches, according to the company.
Here's all about it.
App
Samsung Health Monitor and its working
Dubbed Samsung Health Monitor, the new app measures BP by performing pulse wave analysis, using heart rate sensors.
But, it doesn't track BP on its own; users will first have to calibrate their watch with a traditional BP cuff, following which the machine's readings will be combined with the app's algorithm and sensor data to monitor blood flow change and provide a BP reading.
Details
Calibration will have to be done regularly
Samsung says that the watch has to be calibrated with the traditional BP device every four weeks, to maintain accuracy.
As part of this, you will have to take blood pressure measurements by wearing the BP cuff in one hand and watch on the other.
Once the reading is available, the data has to be fed into the new health app.
Usage
Following calibration, you can get readings anytime
After calibrating, you can use the Watch to measure your blood pressure anytime and anywhere, without using the traditional BP cuff.
The data measured by the app will be recorded so that you track your BP levels by hour, day, and week.
However, do note that you will have to wear the watch on the same hand you wore it during the calibration process.
Release
Release later this year, says Samsung
Samsung says that the app will be released in the third quarter of 2020 for Galaxy Watch Active2, and subsequently on all the smartwatches the company chooses to support.
To note, the South Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety says that the app meets all the criteria of a conventional automated blood pressure meter.
Quote
Taejong Jay Yang, head of Health team at Samsung, says:
"The Samsung Health Monitor app has the potential to help millions of people around the world who are affected by high blood pressure. This is one of many examples of how Samsung is integrating its best-in-class hardware with latest software innovations to innovate mobile experiences."