Google reports a smartwatch model that flagged hypertension in a 196-person study

Google Research said on Nov. 5 that a Nature study of 196 people found a consumer-smartwatch model, using pulse and motion sensors and no cuff calibration, detected hypertension with 65.8 percent sensitivity and 90.0 percent specificity against 24-hour ambulatory monitoring. Initial office screening in the same study had 55.3 percent sensitivity and 90.0 percent specificity. The post says the method is exploratory and not a product feature, after also saying the findings informed blood-pressure trends in the Google Health app, and it does not name the watch.