Samsung to become the first company to include heart failure detection in its smartwatches

By receiving regulatory approval, the company may unlock a new customer base with future smartwatches that can detect one of the most serious heart conditions.

Samsung became the first company to be granted regulatory approval for a smartwatch that can detect Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD), a condition that, if left untreated, could lead to heart failure.

It’s the first time that a consumer wearable has been approved to monitor such a serious health condition.

The new technology will allow for the early detection and monitoring of LVSD, a heart condition that accounts for nearly 50% of all heart failures and can be more fatal than some forms of cancer, notes Samsung.

The technology was created according to Medical AI’s in-house algorithm for the 12-lead ECG analysis, which is already employed in more than 100 Korean hospitals and used for over 120,000 patients monthly. This proved its accuracy and led Samsung to regulatory approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS).

According to the company, LVSD monitoring could not only help people who show no symptoms of a heart condition but could also help save money spent on healthcare, as it would be able to diagnose the condition early on.

Samsung also working on brain-computer interface technology

Samsung struck another partnership with Hanyang University’s Department of Biomedical Engineering to work on an around-the-ear electroencephalogram (EEG) type of device powered by an advanced brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

Considering how limiting the usual EEG systems are, the Ear-EEG would make it possible to monitor brainwaves more easily and outside of a laboratory.

The prototype device has already been put to the test by placing electrodes around the ear to capture high-quality signals.

So far, the device has been able to detect when a user is getting drowsy and provide video preference analysis with 92.86% accuracy by using AI to analyze brainwaves.

Samsung believes that such information shows the device’s potential for use in neuromarketing or entertainment.

Samsung smartwatches already focus on health

The company has been focusing on incorporating fitness and health-related features into its products for quite a while.

During the Samsung Unpacked event in July this year, the company introduced three new smartwatches: the Galaxy Watch Ultra and the Galaxy Watch8, with the new addition being the Galaxy Watch8 Classic.

Together with the release of new Samsung Galaxy watches, the company also introduced some new health tracking features, such as Antioxidant Index, ectopic beat detection, vascular load, heart rate, stress levels, sleep patterns, water intake, and more.

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