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The U.S. FDA has Cleared Apple's new Apnea Detection Feature for Apple Watch 9, 10 and Ultra

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Last Thursday Patently Apple posted a report titled "The FDA granted Apple marketing authorization for the AirPods Pro 2 Hearing Aid Feature." Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Apple’s new sleep apnea detection feature for use, which means it will come to the Apple Watch Series 9, Series 10, and Ultra 2 later this month. 

Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that causes a person’s breathing to repeatedly stop and start throughout the night. The condition affects more than 30 million people in the U.S., but only around 6 million are diagnosed, according to the American Medical Association. If it goes untreated, sleep apnea can cause fatigue and lead to more serious health issues like heart problems, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. 

“We are so excited about the incredible impact this feature can make for the millions of people living with undiagnosed sleep apnea,” Dr. Sumbul Desai, vice president of health at Apple, said in the feature’s launch video.

Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature marks the company’s latest attempt to position its wearables as a cheaper, simpler alternative to many existing health-care tests and devices. And the sleep disorder market could prove to be lucrative. 

To get evaluated for sleep apnea, for instance, patients typically participate in an at-home test or an in-lab test where they’re monitored overnight. Prices vary depending on insurance coverage, but the average in-lab test costs $3,000, according to a 2022 study in the Journal of Primary Care & Community Health. 

Apple’s sleep apnea detection feature is “potentially a game changer” for patients who have been reluctant to seek out testing, said Dr. David Kuhlmann, a physician who has treated sleep disorders for nearly two decades in Missouri. Kuhlmann also serves on the board of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which is a professional society for sleep medicine clinicians. 

Kuhlmann said the feature could be especially helpful for patients who sleep alone, and he thinks a lot of people will be surprised to find out they’re showing signs of sleep apnea. 

Even so, Kuhlmann said users should approach Apple’s sleep apnea data with some caution, as readings could be erroneous. He said it is unlikely that insurance companies will begin paying for sleep apnea therapies like CPAP machines based on Apple Watch data alone, which is why it is important for patients to follow up with their healthcare providers to get an official diagnosis.

“People do need to be diagnosed in order to be treated,” Kuhlmann told CNBC in an interview. For more on this, read the full CNBC report.

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