During Made by Google 2024, the tech giant unveiled its next-gen wearable, the Pixel Watch 3, and with it, a life-saving feature called Loss of Pulse Detection. This is an opt-in tool that gives the smartwatch the “ability to detect loss of pulse,” which is a very scary event in which your heart suddenly stops beating.
According to the announcement, the Pixel Watch 3 utilizes a combination of “sensors, AI, and signal-processing algorithms.” The Heart Rate sensor constantly tabs on your pulse via a green light. But let’s say your heart stops for whatever reason, for example. “If the feature detects signs of pulselessness,” the wearable enacts a multi-step process.
First, infrared and red lights activate, looking for any signs of a pulse, however faint they may be, while the motion sensors check to see if you’re moving. If you don’t move, a countdown with an alarm begins. If you still don’t respond, a call is placed to emergency services alongside a message telling the operator that you have no pulse and where you are located.
Google states it worked with cardiologists when developing Loss of Pulse Detection to learn exactly how this event manifests in the human body. Their algorithm was given “hundreds of thousands of hours of real-life user data from a diverse group of people” and tested so the AI could learn how to detect loss of pulse incidents. The company also consulted emergency medical service providers, like dispatchers and paramedics, to receive feedback on the best way to implement this technology.
What’s interesting is Google claims they even hired stunt actors to simulate instances of loss of pulse. They wore tourniquets to “induce pulselessness” and fell in ways “that would mimic a person” whose heart just stopped.
Vital details
Loss of Pulse Detection will be available on the Pixel Watch 3 at launch later this September but only in select European countries including the UK, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
Google plans to explain the feature to other global regions, such as the United States; however, the tech has yet to be “cleared or evaluated by the US FDA” (Food and Drug Administration). Right now, the company is “working with regulatory bodies” around the world to make the expansion a reality. Also, the official trailer for the tool mentions a few pieces of important information.
Loss of Pulse Detection is not meant for people with “pre-existing heart conditions or those who require cardiac monitoring.” It cannot diagnose any potential medical conditions, nor can it detect “every instance of loss of pulse.” Finally, contacting emergency services depends entirely on “call functionality and cellular connectivity.”
To catch up on everything that went down at the recent event, be sure to check out TechRadar’s list of the seven things we saw at Made by Google.