Automated cardiac arrest detection and emergency service alerting using device-independent smartwatch technology: proof-of-principle

This publication is part of the technical development within the HEART-SAFE project. In this study, we investigated whether commercially available smartwatch sensors can be used to detect the absence of circulation and whether a detected cardiac arrest can automatically trigger an emergency response.

Circulatory arrest was studied in healthy volunteers, patients undergoing cardiac surgery, and an animal model. Using photoplethysmography (PPG) signals from commercially available smartwatches, the developed algorithm correctly identified 28 of 31 circulatory arrests, corresponding to a sensitivity of 90.3%. The hour-level specificity was 94.1%.

Importantly, we also demonstrated the complete pathway from detection to emergency alerting. When a circulatory arrest was detected, the smartwatch generated an audiovisual alarm and successfully triggered an automated alert in the HartslagNu test environment.

These findings provide an important proof of principle that smartwatch technology can potentially be used not only to automatically detect cardiac arrest, but also to initiate the emergency response. Further development and real-world validation are needed to improve the reliability of the technology and reduce false alarms.

If you’re interested in reading the full article, published in Resuscitation, you can do so here.