Smartwatches and fitness trackers often tout expansive health-monitoring capabilities, though some features can create more anxiety than reassurance without independent validation, as CNET senior editor Anna Gragert previously reported. On Thursday, Samsung released new third-party research detailing how its Galaxy Watches may help detect signs associated with fainting episodes.
Samsung teamed up with the Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital of Korea to evaluate over 130 patients struggling with fainting problems. The study included wearing a Samsung Galaxy 6 smartwatch with its photoplethysmography sensor that measures to collect heart rate variability data. (A photoplethysmography sensor uses light to measure changes in blood flow beneath the skin.) That data was then analyzed using an AI algorithm.
The watch predicted fainting episodes with meaningful accuracy several minutes before they happened. It showed 84.6% accuracy in these predications, at a clinically meaningful sensitivity of 90% and a specificity of 64%. In other words, that shows that the smartwatch helped — at least in this case.
Note that this study didn’t have any peer reviews at the time we read it, which would add important confirmation to these results. An external study with a larger number of people, especially those outside a medical setting, would also go a long way to corroborate these findings.
A Samsung representative didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The common fainting attack, typically described as vasovagal syncope in medical settings, is rarely life-threatening but can indicate other medical problems and cause injury through falls. However, patients’ heart rate and blood pressure can be monitored for signs, and in some cases, a faint can be predicted before it happens — such as with the Galaxy 6 watch.
“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,'” Jongmin Choi, head of the health R&D group at Samsung Electronics, said in a statement.
Samsung didn’t report how it plans to use the results of this study, but it did say it wants to expand the health-monitoring capabilities of its wearables.
