A key Apple Watch health feature just got a landmark stamp of approval

Trusted technology for atrial fibrillation

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Since theApple Watchfirst appeared in 2015 – and was initially sold more like a fashion accessory – its reputation as a seriously capable health and fitness tracker has grown and grown. And now it has a new seal of approval from regulators in the US.

As reported byMyHealthyApple(viaMacRumors), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has qualified theApple Watch’s atrial fibrillation (or AFib) history feature as an MDDT – or a Medical Device Development Tool.

That’s a lot of acronyms to keep track of, but essentially it means the AFib readings on an Apple Watch 4 or later are able to be used to verify other medical devices in clinical trials. It’s a major endorsement of the accuracy on board Apple’s wearables.

TheFDA notesthis is the first digital health technology to be approved for MDDT use. Previously, the FDA has already given the thumbs up to AFib history on the Apple Watch, which means Apple is able to advertise the wearables as having this feature – though it’s not at the level where it can replace a proper medical assessment.

Regular upgrades

Monitoring atrial fibrillation – irregular heart rhythms, essentially – is a feature intended for those who have already been diagnosed with the condition and are aged 22 or older, giving them a non-invasive way of checking the frequency of AFib signs.

Year on year, the Apple Watch has consistently added new health and fitness features, whether that’s extra hardware sensors or additions to the software features (keep an eye out forwatchOS 11in June). Having the weight of FDA support behind it certainly helps in marketing the wearable as a reliable and trustworthy tracker.

There have been bumps along the way though: Apple isin an ongoing disputeover blood oxygen tracking patents, which briefly led to theApple Watch 9and theApple Watch Ultra 2being pulled from sale in the United States.

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How that’s going to affect theApple Watch 10remains to be seen. The device should be showing up around September time, and we’ve heard rumors aboutdisplay and battery life upgrades, as well as somepretty significant design changes.

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Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you’ll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

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