Apple wants your pillow to monitor your health while you are asleep

Apple has acquired a new patent which describes technology able to monitor your health conditions while you are asleep outside of a standard mobile device or smart watch.

As spotted by Patently Apple, a patent registered by the European Patent Office (EPO) reveals the acquisition of a design from Tueo Health Inc.

The patent describes methods and means which can monitor an individual's chronic medical conditions which are non-invasive, such as through pillows or sensors placed underneath a mattress.  

Apple's patent focuses on ways to measure one or more physiological parameters. One or more sensors may be in use, and data collected from the sensors "is then transmitted to a processor for computing a risk or status signal that is based on comparison from a baseline related to a patient or related population," according to the publication.

See also: Apple CEO Tim Cook touts enterprise augmented reality as Apple, SAP further integrate

If the information generated suggests there is a problem, alerts or alarms can then sound or be used to make medical professionals aware of a patient's physiological changes.

It is also suggested in the patent that sensors can be modified to take into account other people in the bed at the time of monitoring to prevent confused, inaccurate readings or the wrong individual being monitored.

Apple acquired Beddit, a sleep tracker firm, in 2017. The device slots between your sheets and mattress to measure activity such as the total time you are asleep or your resting heart rate.

TechRepublic: Half of employees think the cloud is actually in the sky

It is possible that in the same way that the Apple Watch was improved over time with electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality to give users the option to keep an eye on their heart rate that the Beddit sleep tracker may, one day, also be bolstered with other health-related functions due to the acquisition of this patent.

CNET: New iPhone to have A13 chip, new cameras and reverse charging, report says

The new patent application was published this month by EPO. As with many other patents, there is no definite time in which technologies built upon this IP will enter the market. 

However, given Apple's dedicated push into the smart health arena, it does not seem implausible that the iPad and iPhone maker will decide to create health monitoring products or services beyond mobile devices or apps.

Many of 2018's most dangerous Android and iOS security flaws still threaten your mobile security

Previous and related coverage

• Apple wants you to use your iPhone for three years... then 'do one last great thing with it'
  
• Apple and Google battle for the future of privacy
  
• iOS 13: Bug fixes, performance boosts, and poaching ideas
  

Have a tip? Get in touch securely via WhatsApp | Signal at +447713 025 499, or over at Keybase: charlie0