Samsung details upcoming cardiovascular condition detection via smartwatch

Samsung has announced that it’s working on bringing detection and monitoring of Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD) to its smartwatches in a world first. This is a serious cardiovascular condition responsible for approximately 50% of all heart failure cases and is more fatal than some cancers.

Thus, early detection is critical to lower the risk of death and reduce hospitalization. Samsung will be using AI algorithms developed in collaboration with Medical AI, a Korean medical device company specializing in AI-based ECG. The algorithms were developed based on Medical AI’s in-house algorithm for the 12-lead ECG analysis, which is already deployed in over 100 major hospitals in Korea and used for over 120,000 patients monthly.

The technology enables early screening for asymptomatic people and also aims to reduce the healthcare costs associated with heart failure by promoting early diagnosis and timely treatment.

Samsung has also partnered with Hanyang University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering to develop an around-the-ear EEG prototype device, which aims to overcome the limitations of traditional EEG systems, offering “a sleek, ergonomic design that allows seamless brainwave monitoring outside laboratory settings”. It captures high-quality signals from strategically placed electrodes around the ear.

The prototype “delivered strong real-world application potential”, including accurate detection of drowsiness in real-time, and AI brainwave analysis to identify participants’ video preferences with 92.86% accuracy, the latter “pointing to potential applications in neuromarketing and entertainment”.

Neither of these has a release date. The LVSD detection and monitoring is obviously the more mature technology, so we should see this in the real world first, at some point in the future.

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