Samsung's blood pressure app approved by South Korean regulator
Samsung's app that measures blood pressure on its smartwatch has been approved for use by South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
Called Samsung Health Monitor, the app will be available on the Galaxy Watch Active 2 in the third quarter, Samsung said.
According to Samsung, after the smartwatch is calibrated with a traditional cuff used for measuring blood pressure, users will not have to use the cuff and can simply tap the smartwatch while wearing it to measure their blood pressure.
Measurement is performed through pulse wave analysis from heart rate monitoring sensors. The software then analyses the relationship between any blood pressure changes and the calibration value to determine blood pressure levels.
Users will be required to calibrate their device with the cuff at least every four weeks, however, for accuracy purposes, it added.
The ministry said Samsung's app meets all the criteria of a conventional automated blood pressure meter.
In February, the ministry revised its mobile app safety guidelines for medical usage to allow apps to be cleared separately from physical devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Since the revision, 35 apps for medical use have been cleared for over-the-counter sales. Most of these have been for CT and X-ray analysis.
Samsung is also looking into various areas to foster digital healthcare businesses, such as its development of the Samsung Medical Centre alongside local telco KT, which uses 5G networks for digital diagnoses.
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