Apple’s New Research Suggests Future AirPods Able To Monitor Respiratory Health
Image via Apple
A new research paper published by Apple and Cornell suggests that researchers at the tech giant are now able to Respiratory Rate (RR) purely from breath audio, which is information that can be gleaned from the tiny AirPods sitting in your ears.
In the study, researchers note that RR values fluctuate “due to normal activities like physical exertion during exercise or due to chronic and acute illnesses.”
To collect more data, the team utilized a model-driven approach to estimate RR in healthy adult participants. The information analyzed came from short audio segments which were taken after physical exertion.
21 people contributed to the study using microphone-enabled, near-field headphones. Samples were taken before, during, and after strenuous exercise. Then, RR was measured by counting “audibly perceived inhalations and exhalations.”
The tests were carried out in different environments with varying amounts of background noise as well. Results showed that “audio can be a viable signal for passively estimating RR” with a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.76 and a mean squared error of 0.2.
9to5Mac notes that the research was published at apt timing, given how rumors of Apple adding new health-tracking features to AirPods Pro have been widespread as of recent.
Traditionally, a patient would need to visit a healthcare provider for RR tests and analysis. A remote estimation like this one, which Apple may incorporate soon, offers a cost-effective alternative, using ‘equipment’ that many already have, to track respiratory health in users over time.
[via 9to5Mac, image via Apple]
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