The Apple Watch can accurately assess fragility, according to a Stanford study

The Apple Watch can accurately determine a user’s “fragility,” according to a recent study from Stanford University (via MyHealthyApple).

Fragility can be determined using a six-minute walking test (6MWT), and the metric is a general standard used to assess a patient’s functional mobility and exercise capacity. Higher scores indicate “healthier heart, respiratory, circulatory and neuromuscular function,” according to Apple.

Led by researchers at Stanford University and funded by Apple, the study provided 110 veteran patients with cardiovascular disease with the iPhone 7 and Apple Watch Series 3. Patients performed six-minute regular home walking tests, which were then compared with their standard in – 6MWT clinical performance.

The study found that an Apple Watch was able to accurately assess fragility with 90% sensitivity and 85% specificity when supervised in a clinical setting. When evaluated in an unsupervised home environment, the Apple Watch was able to accurately assess fragility with a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 60%.

The findings indicate that passive activity data collected by the Apple Watch is an accurate predictor of 6MWT performance in the clinic.

In this longitudinal observational study, data on passive activity acquired by an “iPhone” and Apple Watch were an accurate predictor of 6MWT performance in the clinic. This finding suggests that fragility and functional capacity could be monitored and evaluated remotely in patients with cardiovascular disease, allowing for safer and higher-resolution monitoring of patients.

While the study used a specially developed application called “VascTrac” to collect 6 MWT data along with passively collected activity data from the Apple Watch, Apple has since included a number of new mobility-related health values ​​in watchOS 7, including 6MWT. Preliminary data from studies like this probably encouraged Apple to add the values ​​in atchwatchOS 7‌.

Research may urge health care providers to provide a home assessment of functional capacity to patients with cardiovascular disease using an Apple Watch.