Apple Watch Series 4 will have FDA-cleared ECG, fall detection

• Apple has received FDA clearance for an atrial fibrillation-detecting algorithm and for an ECG, both of which will be built into the Series 4 Apple Watch (shipping expected from 21st September).

• With regards to the ECG function in particular, "Placing a finger on the digital crown [of the new watch] creates a closed circuit with electrodes on the back, providing data that the ECG app uses to analyse heart rhythm," according to designer Johnny Ives.

• It will takes c30 seconds for a user to take an ECG, the readings of which will then be stored in Apple's Health app. Via Apple Health Records, users will then be able to send these readings directly to their doctors.

• Further to this is a feature through which the Watch will give the user an opportunity to call an emergency contact when it detects a fall. If it identifies that the user has remained immobile for one minute after a suspected fall, it will automatically alert emergency services.

Comments

• This is Apple’s second major strategic move in the healthcare space this year, following the addition of Apple Health Records to iOS 11 back in January.

• Shifting care from hospital to home, the wearables space as one of five key investment areas within the digital healthcare theme.

• Apple’s wearables division (Watch and AirPods) now has an annual run-rate of over USD10bn, but this is only c4% group revenues given the size of its iPhone and iPad businesses.

• Therefore, the key stock-picking implications are more relevant for the disrupted than the disruptor in our view. Post the Apple announcement, the share prices of iRhythm (IRTC, NC, ECG monitoring patches), BioTelemetry (BEAT, NC, Remote ECG monitoring) and Fitbit (FIT, NC, fitness wearables) all declined by 5-10%.

• Also of note is the FDA approval and the concurrent announcement by the FDA that it is “working to modernise our regulatory approach to better enable and more efficiently spur innovation in this novel area to improve the health and quality of life of consumers and patients". This may have longer-term implications for the broader medical device market and penetration into consumer-type medical products.

What do you think?

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