Apple watches are the most accurate optical heart rate monitors – but are they validated for our application?

Last Updated on December 10, 2023 by pg@petergamma.org

And if so are the validated Apple watches still available? Or is it better to choose a more recent Apple watch and write a new validation paper? Apple watches are to our knowledge currently the most accurate optical heart rate monitors which are available on the market.

According to scientific papers Apple watches are the most accurate PPG watches – can we use those to do physiolological research with those?

They eventually could be used as an alternative to the firstbeat bodyguard. The body guard validation paper is only a white paper published on the firstbeat website:

https://assets.firstbeat.com/firstbeat/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_bodyguard2_final.pdf

We have a validation paper for the firstbeat bodyboard for resting, standing, walking activites .etc. The reference device in the validation paper was a Embla Titanium 2 lead ECG device:

90.05 Table of the accuracy of HRMs compared to research & medical grade ECG devices

and not a 3 lead ECG device which are the most accurate devices which are available. We have similar or better validation data for the Apple watch 1 and 3. But if we are looking for the best optical heart rate monitor which is currently available we can validate an Apple watch by ourselves in a scientific paper, following the example of Marco Altini who validated the Polar H7 chest strap for his specific application heart rate variablity with an ECG reference device:

Heart rate variablity, one of the rare parameters which can be measured with consumer grade heart rate monitors such as the Polar H7 chest strap & is validated in a scientific paper (with co-author Marco Altini, PhD.)

together with other scientists from New Zealand such as Paul Rarsen, Adjunct Professor of Exercise Physiology, Sports Performance Research Institute New Zealand (SPRINZ):

https://scholar.google.is/citations?user=dbv3cxgAAAAJ&hl=sv