Apple Watch - medical device???

If you are really interested in this subject, you should follow and read his book
Eric Topol (@EricTopol) | Twitter
A big proponent of personal handheld (smartphone) medical device. I closed my Twitter account along with my FB account when Cambridge Analytica fiasco came to surface, so I don't know what he has been tweeting in recent months, though.

 

I'm really enjoying the Apple watch series 2 that I've had a little over a year. It was an upgrade from my Fitbit which usually thought I was dead when I walked or jogged. No amount of fussing would make it dependable. Apple watch has been almost perfectly reliable and, it turns out that I leave my phone in my pocket a lot more. And it pushes me harder while not being nasty about it. I got the Fitbit after getting three stents installed to fix four blockages, two of which were 95%. On my last stress test, I got an A+ and the cardiologist was delighted. I might have managed that w/o the Apple watch, but I kind of doubt it.

I don't believe the watches are meant to be used for diagnostics, but they are good as alarms for potentially dangerous conditions. Going to the doctor and saying "I have a-fib," probably won't elicit a positive response. But saying, "Hey, I got this alarm from my watch. Can we check it out?" That would be more reasonable. Doctors like to hear our symptoms, but not our conclusions.

 

Hey neighbor ! Not many PIPs around here.

 

Sphygmo@1. I understand that pulse oximeters are regulated as medical devices and not sold to US public. Here in the Wild West (East?) they are $20 equivalent on Taobao.

If the question is getting people more into their own medical data I vote yes. But post it on The Cloud (clouds rain everywhere) I switch to no.

 

We can buy those in the US

 

Good to hear - this may be a recent change because my (mis)understanding is 3 yrs old.

From $13.50 at Walmart(TM)

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In interests of globalizing discussion of public participation in medicalia, it is popular in Costa Rica to take vitamins by self injection. Pharmacias stock pre-loaded hypodermics.

In Asia's largest country (that isn't Russia) most of what you would consider prescription drugs are essentially over-the-counter. Assuming you can describe the desired product

 

Besides democratization of routine medical information, we might consider getting more information. Like this:

Eight of 10 people with cancer risk genes don't know it -- ScienceDaily

Thread boss would decide whether to expand this discussion. But I see the topic as
- What should we know?
- Who else should know it?

 

Any SMART device can collect DATA. But as saying goes...

Data is not Information
Information is not Knowledge
Knowledge is not Wisdom​

 

Last time I looked at this pulse oximeters were available both with and without FDA medical device certification. Those with certification are more expensive, but otherwise exactly the same. The practical difference is that a certified device may be covered by medical insurance.

I remember waiting in line for at least a half hour at a medical screening fair to have my blood oxygen read by a desk size device. The answer was that I was OK. These days I read my oxygen level, pulse, and pulse wave on my personal $80 CMS50E fingertip oximeter. Just sitting here I'm at 95%, and breathing deeply it goes up to 98%. Suck some oxygen from my Craigslist oxygen concentrator and the value quickly goes to 99%.

I think you need a prescription to purchase a new oxygen concentrator for medical use. But if you are just going to use it for welding jewelry, no prescription is required. It's not the product, but the declared usage that establishes whether or not a prescription is required.

Oxygen used for homebrew beer does not require a prescription...

 

95% is not a kick-ash value for dwellers near sea level, but it sounds like you are managing.

Not sure quite how oximeters are calibrated but I'd not be surprised by varying results with 10 on 10 fingers.

Clearly, drug prescriptions and medical devices are handled differently in different countries. It would seem to fit purpose of this discussion were someone inclined to assemble a chart.

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Quite unsure what would be use of oxygen in beer brewing, as excluding it is what allows yeast to stop respiring at about the halfway point.

 

I think my performance category is more like "still kicking" as opposed to younger categories. I've always had problems with breathing, and it's not getting better with age.

One thing I want to do with oxygen is to bubble ozone through olive oil and breath it. I've got all the equipment, but haven't hooked it up yet. Medical ozone is used extensively in Germany and Cuba, but is almost unknown in the US. Another oxygen therapy is EWOT, Exercise With Oxygen Therapy. Theory is that as you get older, cell walls become less permeable to oxygen. For the same level of blood oxygen saturation, less oxygen gets into older cells than young ones. EWOT is reported to improve cell wall permeability.

 

Oxygen can be added to the wort (initial mixture) to speed up the process. Too little or too much destroys flavor, but the right amount can make the best flavor beer. Just google "beer oxygen" for more than you thought existed...