Apple Health

If you use the Activity or Health app on your iPhone to keep track of the number of steps you walk each day, you’re probably doing better than you think. A study by the University of British Columbia found that the iPhone underestimates the number of steps people take by up to 21.5% …

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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just granted the first ever clearance for an Apple Watch accessory to be used as a recognized medical device. Obtaining the green light took just over two years, around a year longer than the company had hoped.

AliveCor’s Kardiaband EKG reader is a Watch band that provides a much more convenient and discreet way to obtain an EKG reading, which can be used to detect abnormal heart rhythm and atrial fibrillation (AFib) …

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A vascular surgeon using his own neck to test an iPhone-based portable ultrasonic scanner found that cancerous cells were present. MIT Technology Review reported

Black-and gray images quickly appeared. John Martin is not a cancer specialist. But he knew that the dark, three-centimeter mass he saw did not belong there. “I was enough of a doctor to know I was in trouble,” he says. It was squamous-cell cancer …

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Anyone who’s ever had a blood pressure test will know that it normally involves an inflatable cuff that squeezes your arm until it cuts off circulation, then gradually deflates it, measuring the point at which circulation first resumes and then returns to normal.

But an Apple patent published today describes a clever method for calculating blood pressure using nothing more than an Apple Watch with a sensor-equipped band …

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The Los Angeles-based hospital Cedars-Sinai has today announced a new Apple Watch app that makes it easier for patients to quickly locate doctors and find nearby clinics.

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When the Apple Watch Series 3 was unveiled on Tuesday, all the attention was on the new LTE connectivity added to the latest model. But to my mind the far more significant announcement was something which will shortly be available on all Apple Watch models: the new heart-rate monitoring coming with watchOS 4.

There were four elements to this development, and I fully expect more to follow further down the line …

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Two separate academic reports suggest that playing Pokémon GO can be good for both physical and mental health (provided that you manage to avoid car crashes and stay away from landmines).

New research by Tokyo University says that players report significantly reduced stress levels, which could have positive effects on mental health …

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An Apple patent granted today describes how the front-facing camera, light sensor and proximity sensor found in existing iPhones could be used for health measurements.

The electronic device uses one or more of the camera and the proximity sensor to emit light into a body part of a user touching a surface of the electronic device and one or more of the camera, the ambient light sensor, and the proximity sensor to receive at least part of the emitted light reflected by the body part of the user. The electronic device computes health data of the user based upon sensor data regarding the received light.

It also considers using additional sensors mounted in the same area for further health measurements …

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San Diego State University professor of psychology and author Jean Twenge has claimed that smartphone usage is having a radical impact on both the behavior and mental health of U.S. teenagers.

The arrival of the smartphone has radically changed every aspect of teenagers’ lives, from the nature of their social interactions to their mental health […] Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011. It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones.

Far from being the usual generalized complaint about teens spending too much time staring at their screens, Dr Twenge has plenty of hard data to support her contentions – made in The Atlantic, the magazine in which Laurene Powell Jobs recently bought a majority stake …

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Much like Apple, Amazon is now said to have a secret heathcare team working on electronic medical records and telemedicine. A new report from CNBC details the team, dubbed 1492 in reference to the year Columbus first landed in the Americas.

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An Apple software engineer recently revealed that Apple is now rolling out its use of differential privacy to cover both web browsing and health data, as it now uses the technique to process millions of pieces of daily information from device users.

Differential privacy has so far flown largely under the radar, so we thought it would be a good time to look at what it does and how it works – and to ask how comfortable you feel about its wider use by Apple …

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It was reported last week that Apple is working to turn the iPhone into a “one-stop shop” for medical record data and now a new report from CNBC offers up a bit more detail on those efforts. The report explains that Apple’s health team has been working with Health Gorilla, a small startup in the health industry.

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It’s no secret that Apple has a growing interest in the health industry as it continues to expand health tracking capabilities with the iPhone and Apple Watch. Now, a report from CNBC claims that Apple is looking to turn the iPhone into a “one-stop shop” for all medical record information.

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New for Health in iOS 11 & watchOS 4: Apple is introducing a handful of new features for diabetes management as the Apple Watch gains the ability to connect directly to Bluetooth Low Power devices like those used for glucose monitoring.

Alongside the new diabetes management features, app developers are getting more access to Workout data and other Apple Watch features, swimming tracking is getting improvements, and Health is introducing new Activity categories for tracking different types of exercises including Tai Chi, Mixed Cardio, and Hand Cycling.

Head below for a roundup of new features coming to the Health app and watchOS 4 this fall:

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Mail-order eyeglasses company Warby Parker has created an iPhone app that can replace a visit to the optometrist for some customers.

Has your eyeglasses prescription expired? Want to take a vision test at home? Well, welcome! Introducing Warby Parker Prescription Check. This is our brand-spanking-new mobile refraction service that, if you are eligible, allows an eye doctor to assess your vision and provide an updated eyeglasses prescription. (Is there anything your phone can’t do?!)

You’d of course expect there to be some small-print when you’re dealing with something as important as your eye-sight, and there is …

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A common Apple Watch question people ask me is when will Apple add built-in sleep tracking capabilities. My answer is always ‘soon I hope’, and watchOS 4 seems like the next opportunity to introduce it. But there are already third-party apps that let you try it now. The problem for me is finding the right time to recharge my Apple Watch when I wear it overnight.

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