Galaxy Watch 7 could use AI for continuous atrial fibrillation monitoring

Samsung introduced Galaxy AI alongside the Galaxy S24 series at the beginning of 2024, and the new Bespoke range of appliances uses AI more extensively than ever. It makes sense then for Samsung to want to bring AI to wearable devices, and indeed, the company hinted that it will add AI capabilities to its upcoming Galaxy Watches on a few occasions throughout the year.

However, Samsung hasn't revealed exactly how it wants AI to improve the smartwatch experience later this year. We don't know how the upcoming Galaxy Watch 7 lineup will utilize artificial intelligence to its advantage, but a recent patent application may have offered a clue.

According to a patent application (via Wearable) published recently by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Samsung may have found a way to bring “continuous atrial fibrillation detection via PPG and ECG signal translation” to Galaxy Watches using Generative AI.

Continuous AFib monitoring could be made possible by AI

Samsung smartwatches offer ECG capabilities and atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection. However, this is not a continuous process. Users who want to take an ECG reading are required to keep their fingers pressed against the Watch's sensors and wait for a successful reading to complete.

This new patent application suggests that Samsung could soon enable continuous AFib monitoring through the clever use of Generative AI by translating PPG signals into ECG signals. In other words, the company is able to translate heart rate monitoring signals into ECG signals using AI, and in turn, enable continuous AFib detection.

The patent application was filed on August 30, 2023, and published in late April. It describes “A system and a method […] for AFib detection using ECG signals generated from monitored PPG signals […].”

The “abstract” section says the method translates the measured PPG signals into ECG signals using a dynamic model and analyzes the translated ECG signals using an AFib detection model “trained on measured ECG signals for AFib detection.”

At the same time, Samsung is aware that using Generative AI could lead to errors. “Fake information may be introduced, which affects an AFib detection result.” However, the company describes a way to mitigate these issues by “incorporating prior knowledge in terms of probabilistic graphical models.”

Samsung is expected to unveil the Galaxy Watch 7 series in July at the next Unpacked launch event, which should be hosted in Paris, two weeks ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games. Early leaks suggest that Samsung may release a new Ultra Watch model and that at least one Galaxy Watch 7 variant will have a rectangular design.