Talking Sleep Sleep Apnea Detection: Inside the Apple Watch Algorithm
6 snips
Jan 24, 2025 Matt Bianchi, a sleep medicine physician and research scientist on Apple’s Health Technologies team, discusses Apple Watch screening for moderate–severe sleep apnea. He explains how wrist accelerometry detects nightly breathing disturbances, the 30-day notification logic, the tradeoff favoring high specificity, and why the feature is screening-only and not a replacement for clinical testing.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Wrist Accelerometry Reveals Breathing Oscillations
- Apple Watch estimates breathing disturbances using high-frequency accelerometer signals to detect wrist-transmitted respiratory oscillations.
- The breathing disturbance rate correlates with AHI but is not interchangeable with diagnostic AHI values.
Targeting Clinically Relevant Severity
- The feature targets moderate-to-severe sleep apnea (AHI >15) rather than all cases.
- Apple prioritized clinical-relevant thresholds to focus impact on treatable disease.
From Skeptic To Wearable Advocate
- Matt Bianchi began skeptical of wearables but has worked on them since fellowship and saw capabilities evolve dramatically.
- He notes FDA clearance of clinical claims marks major progress over the past decade.