Accuracy of the Apple Watch in measuring oxygen saturation: comparison with pulse oximetry and ABG

Smartwatches have gained tremendous attention in recent years and have become widely accepted by patients, despite not being intended for medical diagnosis.

This study aimed to determine the accuracy of Apple Watch oxygen saturation measurement in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD by comparing it with medical-grade pulse oximetry and ABG.

This single-center, prospective, cross-sectional study involved 167 patients. Patients presenting with cardiac arrest, life-threatening symptoms, severe hypoxia, or obvious jaundice were excluded. Additionally, patients whose SpO₂ measurements with the Apple Watch took more than 2 min or required eight attempts were also excluded. Vital signs were measured simultaneously using the IntelliVue MX500 monitor with the Masimo Rainbow Set pulse oximeter and the Apple Watch. Concurrently, arterial blood gas (ABG) samples were drawn.

A strong correlation between the Apple Watch 6 and medical-grade pulse oximetry (r = 0.89, ICC = 0.940) was noted. The Bland-Altman analysis revealed a mean error of 0.458% between the Apple Watch 6 and ABG (SD: 2.78, level of agreement: - 5.912 to 4.996). The mean error between pulse oximetry and ABG (SD: 5.086, level of agreement; - 10.983 to 8.953) was 1.015%. There was a correlation between respiratory rate and the number of attempts to measure SpO₂ with the Apple Watch 6 (r = 0.75, p < 0.05).

Apple Watch 6 is an accurate and reliable method for measuring SpO₂ levels in emergency patients who presented with acute exacerbation of COPD. However, tachypneic patients may encounter challenges due to the potential need for multiple attempts to measure their oxygen saturation.