Apple Watch, iPhone Can Remotely Assess 'Frailty' In Cardiovascular Patients

Apple Inc AAPL-made smartwatch and the iPhone could be used to remotely assess the frailty of patients with cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in PloS One.

What Happened: The study conducted by Stanford University and funded by the Tim Cook-led company took into account the traditional six-minute walk test (6MWT), an in-clinic 6MWT test that used iPhone and Apple Watch, and a  test done remotely and monitored through an app. The researchers also took into account passively collected activity data.

Under a supervised in-clinic setting, the smartphone and Apple Watch with the App were able to assess “frailty” with a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 85%. In the unsupervised setting, the devices were 83% sensitive and 60% specific. 

Over a hundred volunteers participated in the study and each of them was scheduled for vascular or cardiac procedures. The participants were followed for six months and were supplied with iPhone and Apple Watch running the VascTrac research app.

Why It Matters: The researchers concluded that passive activity data captured by an iPhone and Apple Watch were “an accurate predictor of in-clinic 6MWT performance.”

The study suggested that “frailty and functional capacity could be monitored and evaluated remotely in patients with cardiovascular disease, enabling safer and higher resolution monitoring of patients.”
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Last month two separate studies suggested that the Apple Watch can detect possible cases of COVID-19 positivity a few days before the onset of symptoms.

Price Action: Apple shares closed nearly 0.4% higher at $120.59 on Thursday and rose 0.13% in the after-hours session.