Health and Family
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Subscribers
Can I trust my watch measurements?
The importance of distinguishing between wearable devices and medical grade devices.
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Today, access to devices wearables (wearable ones) has increased significantly thanks to the availability and diversity of options for all budgets.
Specifically in the health area, we find a variety of devices ranging from watches that measure heart rate to rings that monitor sleep quality and stress levels.
However, given the importance of health monitoring and the growing demand for personalized wellness solutions, it is important for consumers to educate themselves and know the difference between these wearables and medical grade devices.
Among the differences that we can highlight is the precision of the measurements and the standards and validation processes that these technologies carry.
In the case of medical grade devices, they go through regulatory processes where they are subjected to rigorous testing to guarantee their accuracy and precision in measurements, in addition to demonstrating compliance with quality and safety standards.
While the devices wearables They are not subject to such processes, which makes it difficult to evaluate the precision and reliability of the measurements obtained, which can negatively affect people’s health. So much so that, in February 2024, the FDA released a statement indicating that smart watches or rings should not be used for glucose measurement, since these are non-medical grade devices and therefore can produce inaccurate measurements that cause errors in diabetes control.
In conclusion, it is important that as technology consumers we are informed. Especially if these devices are being used for health monitoring as they can influence disease management and our well-being.
*Director of the Master’s Degree in Biomedical Engineering, Galileo University.
Medical grade devices go through regulatory processes that guarantee accuracy and precision in their measurements.
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