An interview with Jörn Watzke, Senior Director Garmin Health Global Business Development & Sales.

Mr. Watzke, living longer thanks to a smartwatch. Is that a vision of the future or already a reality?

In any case, a smartwatch makes for a more conscious and healthier lifestyle. In the case of certain diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, exercise, lifestyle and diet actually have a positive influence on survival. Here, the smartwatch can play its part. Smartwatches are also successfully used for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and there are various studies on this. The prerequisite for the positive effects is, of course, the willingness to wear the smartwatch, to adhere to the recommendations and to consistently orient one’s life towards more exercise and better sleep, to name just two points.

 

So, a little all-rounder in the service of health?

The fact is that smartwatches, for example from Garmin®, can already do a lot. There are functions for health analysis such as measuring heart and breathing rates, stress levels, oxygen saturation and sleep analyses. Nutrition, drinking behavior, women’s health – all this has already been integrated into smartwatches.

Would you allow us a glimpse into the future?

What’s interesting is that already smartwatch users reflect the demographics of the population, meaning there are a lot of users in their 60s or 70s, but all other age groups are represented as well.

The interface with medicine is particularly interesting, and there will be even more areas of interconnectivity in the future. One is the ability of users to trigger the transmission of data on movement, sleep and heart rate to be delivered to the doctor. In doing so, the user is always in control of whether they want to transmit their data, and the transmission does not happen automatically without the user’s knowledge. The doctor gains an overview of a longer period of time with these data provided by the user, which is a good complement to measurements at the doctor’s office, which are a snapshot. This is interesting for all users of smartwatches, but it is particularly interesting for the group from 45 years upwards.

 

How can smartwatches be used in specific therapy programs?

Data is already being linked to external programs, for example in monitoring before and after hip or knee replacement. Here, it can be of great benefit to both the physician and the patient to view movement patterns before and after surgery. Data from a smartwatch can also be used specifically as a digital biomarker for other diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease.

 

Will smartwatches be reimbursed by health insurance in the future?

Statutory health insurers partially support the purchase of a smartwatch through incentive programs. Incentive programs of this kind will probably be more common in the future, as clinical studies clearly confirm the benefits of smartwatches. In addition, Garmin itself is conducting studies.

Studies in which Garmin smartwatches have already been used can be viewed in the following study database: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/garmin-health-third-party-studies-overview/

 

 

What role does artificial intelligence play?

For example, artificial intelligence will help predict unfavorable (or positive) disease progression or perhaps even dangerous situations based on data from the smartwatch. It may also be possible to better tailor therapy programs to the user or patient in the future.

 

We would like to thank Jörn Watzke for the interview.

 

About Garmin Health

Garmin Health develops innovative, customized and flexible product solutions for healthcare companies and organizations. By providing a connected ecosystem, digital software products and best-in-class devices, Garmin enables its partners to access a wide range of health and real-time sensor data. With exceptional battery life, water resistance and one of the largest wearable portfolios in the market, Garmin devices are ideal for health programs of all types – from fitness programs to innovative patient monitoring. As a result, the company is a key driver of the transformation to a digital health system. Garmin Health is part of the global wearable and navigation expert Garmin and can draw on a product portfolio with the highest quality & design standards. Garmin Health works with Garmin’s marketing and sales companies and exclusive distribution partners worldwide.

For more information, please visit: https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/health/

or our blog https://www.garmin.com/en-GB/blog/category/health/