The Apple Watch is a key player in a major new study on surgery

The Apple Watch – the titan of the smart watch industry with over 18 million devices sold in 2017 alone – is about to connect thousands of patients who have undergone hip surgery and knee directly with their surgeons.

Apple and medical device giant Zimmer Biomet announced Monday that they are associating with a clinical study linking patients waiting for a hip and knee procedure with doctors via a Digital health app for Apple Watch and iPhone. The application, mymobility, is designed to provide surgical care teams with patient health data (such as heart rate, step count, standing time, and other relevant information) during treatment. and their recovery.

One of the reasons here is to help doctors monitor patients who need two of the most common surgeries in America; In addition to this, it offers patients a digitally powered avenue to connect with their doctors.

"We are proud to allow patients who have had knee and hip replacements to use their own data and share it seamlessly with their doctor so that they can participate in their care and treatment." their recovery in a way that had not been possible before thanks to traditional in-person visits. This solution will connect consumers with their doctors constantly, before and after surgery, "said Jeff Williams, chief operating officer at Apple.

The trial will recruit 10,000 patients in four major academic medical centers (Emory and University of Pennsylvania) and in dozens of hospitals and surgical centers. Each year, more than one million hip and knee replacements are performed in the United States. Therefore, if the test speeds up the recovery time, the potential of the market could be great.

Apple's forays into the medical field have become increasingly aggressive, especially when it comes to leveraging its vast customer base for the use of their health data. The company's integrated heart rate monitor for its latest watch could upset the digital health field – or, critics say, could lead to unnecessary alerts and medical intervention.

Subscribe to Brainstorm Health Daily, our newsletter on the most exciting innovations in health.