Apple has been evolving its devices, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch, into medical-grade tools. Since 2019, the tech giant has filed multiple patents for non-invasive health monitoring solutions. Now apple is working on a fabric band for its smartwatch.
The most recent patent involves a new fabric-based band for the Apple Watch that could make the smartwatch capable of monitoring blood pressure (BP), blood sugar, and more.
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This patent was granted to the Cupertino giant in November by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
According to Apple Insider, Apple has designed a unique fabric based watch band that can stretch to fit snugly around the user’s wrist or other parts of the body.
This stretchable band, likely made from materials such as nylon and spandex, is embedded with circuits and sensors that can monitor essential health metrics, including blood pressure, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and respiration rate.
The latest patent builds on an earlier 2019 patent titled “Fabric-based items with stretchable bands.”
As mentioned in the report, at the core of Apple’s patent is a ring-shaped, stretchable fabric band designed to accurately capture health data by fitting snugly around the user’s body.
The patent outlined how this fabric band could integrate sensor circuits for monitoring vital signs.
These circuits, woven directly into the fabric, may include ECG sensors, BP monitors, respiration sensors, and even wireless power-receiving coils, enabling the band to operate as a self-sustaining system.
The patent outlined how accelerometers embedded in the fabric band can monitor physical activities.
Additionally, other sensors may collect data on respiration rates, environmental factors, and even recognise gestures or taps as forms of user input.
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The patent also proposed that this sensor-rich band could be utilised in wearable devices beyond the Apple Watch.
Possible applications include headbands, armbands, athletic clothing, and even smart undergarments – all capable of transmitting essential health metrics back to Apple devices.