Apple Patents Sensor-Equipped Watch Bands That Capture Blood Pressure, Heart Failure
Source: Extreme Tech, Adrianna Nine
Photo: Angus Gray/Unsplash
Putting sensors in the wearable’s band could unlock a host of health-monitoring features—if the patented device ever becomes an actual product.
Future iterations of the Apple Watch could monitor blood pressure, signs of heart failure, and more. A slew of new patents reveals Cupertino’s plan to leverage not just the metal square that currently contains all of the Apple Watch’s sensors, but also the interchangeable wristband to capture more health data in real time. In some cases, that band might not even go on the wrist—the user’s forehead, chest, waist, bicep, and ankle are all fair game.
Apple was granted a whopping 38 patents on Nov. 5, according to Patently Apple, a website that tracks the company’s filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office. While some involve fairly mundane updates, like a new TouchID button for the iPad and an AirPod case refresh, others are more thought-provoking, like an anti-glare glass display and a table with built-in storage. Most interesting, though, is Apple’s patent for “fabric-based items with stretchable bands.”
Filed in 2022, this patent describes “a ring-shaped strip of stretchable fabric…configured to fit around the body part of a user.” By weaving circuitry into strands of stretchy material, the band can incorporate sensors that lie flush with the user’s body while in use. These sensors would capture blood pressure measurements, respiration rate data, and electrocardiogram (ECG) readings. ECG data offers insight into the heart’s electrical activity, which itself reveals signs of atrial fibrillation, narrowing arteries, and other signs of cardiac failure.
The Apple Watch has offered ECG readings since 2018, when Apple introduced the Series 4. While the feature currently catches signs of irregular heartbeat or an unusually low or high heart rate, Apple stresses that the Watch can’t see a heart attack coming, and users shouldn’t expect the feature to catch congestive heart failure or high blood pressure. By incorporating sensors into the wristband, Apple might be able to expand its health offerings, unlocking blood pressure insights and other data related to cardiac wellbeing.
There’s no telling what else the Apple Watch might track if used with a sensor-rich band on the chest, waist, or bicep. The patent mentions blood glucose readings (Apple’s white whale, as far as health monitoring is concerned), respiration rate (another thing the Apple Watch already monitors, though on a limited basis), and “environmental readings,” which could be similar to the device’s current noise level warnings. Otherwise, the patent focuses far more on how the stretchy sensor band is constructed than on what the band might be used for.
Patently Apple points out that Daniel Podhajny is listed as one of the band’s inventors. Now a product designer at Apple, Podhajny has previously worked on several Nike patents, including the sportswear company’s stretchy and breathable Flyknit material. While we have limited information regarding what an Apple sensor band might look like, we can at least expect that if it becomes a real product, it should be comfortable to wear.