Skip to main content

Fitbit cleared to launch new feature that could save lives

Fitbit has been given the green light for a new feature that will passively check for atrial fibrillation (AFib), a form of irregular heart rhythm.

Clearance for Fitbit’s new PPG (photoplethysmography) algorithm was granted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), paving the way for a new Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications feature for certain Fitbit devices.

AFib is believed to affect around 33 million people globally, and individuals with the condition are at greater risk of suffering a potentially debilitating or life-threatening stroke.

As AFib usually occurs without warning, and sometimes without any noticeable symptoms, the condition can be hard to detect. However, Fitbit’s system will function around the clock, in the background, with the device’s sensors checking for any heartbeat abnormalities throughout the day and during sleep.

If the device detects anything that could be AFib, the Fitbit device will send a notification to the wearer. It should be emphasized that while the feature cannot be used to diagnose AFib, it can flag the possible presence of the condition.  In that case, anyone receiving a notification is encouraged to visit a doctor for further assessment.

The FDA clearance of Fitbit’s PPG-based algorithm means Fitbit now offers two ways to detect AFib, the other being Fitbit’s ECG (electrocardiogram) app that lets wearers proactively screen themselves for AFib. The new system, however, is a significant step forward as it allows for passive monitoring 24/7, increasing the chances of AFib detection should the wearer be living with the condition.

“We want to make AFib detection as accessible as possible to help reduce the risk of potentially life-threatening events — like stroke — and ultimately improve overall heart health for everyone,” Google-owned Fitbit said in a release announcing the new feature.

It added that the PPG-based algorithm and Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications feature will be available “soon” to consumers in the U.S., across a range of its heart-rate-enabled devices.

In the same sector, Apple’s most recent smartwatches already include a similar AFib detection feature, but according to its website it only “occasionally” runs checks. It’s also possible to manually perform a check via an ECG feature, though as noted earlier, manual checks are not an ideal way to detect AFib.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How Intel and Microsoft are teaming up to take on Apple
An Intel Meteor Lake system-on-a-chip.

It seems like Apple might need to watch out, because Intel and Microsoft are coming for it after the latter two companies reportedly forged a close partnership during the development of Intel Lunar Lake chips. Lunar Lake refers to Intel's upcoming generation of mobile processors that are aimed specifically at the thin and light segment. While the specs are said to be fairly modest, some signs hint that Lunar Lake may have enough of an advantage to pose a threat to some of the best processors.

Today's round of Intel Lunar Lake leaks comes from Igor's Lab. The system-on-a-chip (SoC), pictured above, is Intel's low-power solution made for thin laptops that's said to be coming out later this year. Curiously, the chips weren't manufactured on Intel's own process, but on TSMC's N3B node. This is an interesting development because Intel typically sticks to its own fabs, and it even plans to sell its manufacturing services to rivals like AMD. This time, however, Intel opted for the N3B node for its compute tile.

Read more
How much does an AI supercomputer cost? Try $100 billion
A Microsoft datacenter.

It looks like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Sora, among other projects, are about to get a lot more juice. According to a new report shared by The Information, Microsoft and OpenAI are working on a new data center project, one part of which will be a massive AI supercomputer dubbed "Stargate." Microsoft is said to be footing the bill, and the cost is astronomical as the name of the supercomputer suggests -- the whole project might cost over $100 billion.

Spending over $100 billion on anything is mind-blowing, but when put into perspective, the price truly shows just how big a venture this might be: The Information claims that the new Microsoft and OpenAI joint project might cost a whopping 100 times more than some of the largest data centers currently in operation.

Read more
There’s an unexpected, new competitor in PC gaming
Snapdragon's X Elite PC SoC.

Windows gaming on ARM is becoming a legitimate possibility, and it's not just thanks to the recently unveiled emulation options, but it's chiefly due to the fact that Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite is shaping up to be pretty excellent. Spotted in a recent benchmark, the CPU was seen beating some of the best processors on the current market. Are we finally at a point where it's not always going to be a choice between just Intel and AMD?

The benchmarks were posted by user @techinmul on Twitter, and the results couldn't be more promising for the upcoming Qualcomm processor. The chip was tested in Geekbench 6, and although it's important not to take these results entirely at face value, it's an impressive show of performance that bodes well for upcoming thin and light laptops.

Read more