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Observational Study
. 2021 Sep 23;11(1):18901.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-98453-3.

Comparison of SpO2 and heart rate values on Apple Watch and conventional commercial oximeters devices in patients with lung disease

Leonardo Zumerkorn Pipek  1 , Rafaela Farias Vidigal Nascimento  2 , Milena Marques Pagliarelli Acencio  3 , Lisete Ribeiro Teixeira  4   3
Affiliations
Observational Study

Comparison of SpO2 and heart rate values on Apple Watch and conventional commercial oximeters devices in patients with lung disease

Leonardo Zumerkorn Pipek et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Lung diseases have high mortality and morbidity, with an important impact on quality of life. Hypoxemic patients are advised to use oxygen therapy to prolong their survival, but high oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels can also have negative effects. Pulse oximeters are the most common way to assess oxygen levels and guide medical treatment. This study aims to assess whether wearable devices can provide precise SpO2 measurements when compared to commercial pulse oximeters. This is a cross-section study with 100 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease from an outpatient pneumology clinic. SpO2 and heart rate data were collected with an Apple Watch Series 6 (Apple) and compared to two commercial pulse oximeters. The Bland-Altman method and interclass correlation coefficient were used to compare their values. We observed strong positive correlations between the Apple Watch device and commercial oximeters when evaluating heart rate measurements (r = 0.995, p < 0.001) and oximetry measurements (r = 0.81, p < 0.001). There was no statistical difference in the evaluation of skin color, wrist circumference, presence of wrist hair, and enamel nail for SpO2 and heart rate measurements in Apple Watch or commercial oximeter devices (p > 0.05). Apple Watch 6 is a reliable way to obtain heart rate and SpO2 in patients with lung diseases in a controlled environment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Correlation plots of SpO2 (r = 0.81) and heart rate (r = 0.966) of COPD and ILD patients and healthy volunteers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Bland–Altman plots of SpO2 and heart rate of COPD and ILD patients and healthy volunteers. Solid lines show the mean bias. Dashed bias represents upper and lower limits of agreement.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Comparison of Apple Watch and commercial oximeters devices of SpO2 and heart rate of COPD and ILD patients and healthy volunteers.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Comparison of Apple Watch and commercial oximeters devices of SpO2. (A) Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), (B) Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and (C) Healthy volunteers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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