(Getty Images)

       MANAZURU, Kanagawa -- This eastern Japan town announced on Oct. 12 that it will start full-scale operation of a system to share data on COVID-19 patients at home in real time with clinics by using Apple Watches in November.

       According to the Manazuru Municipal Government in Kanagawa Prefecture, some prefectures have introduced the system, but this is the first time in the country for a municipality to do so. The number of infected people in the town has increased sharply from a total of nine between March 2020 and June 2021 to a total of 38 between July 1 and Sept. 17 this year. Since there are no medical facilities in the town where coronavirus patients can be hospitalized, the town government considered countermeasures.

       Dr. Kota Hada, director of the town's national health insurance clinic and chairman of the Family Health Foundation, proposed the system, and the town government decided to introduce it at a cost of 4 million yen (about $35,250). The town, the foundation, and the Japan Association for Development of Community Medicine will work together to implement the measures.

       They will distribute Apple Watches and iPhones with data transfer functions set up for home care patients. Hada said, "The Apple Watch is not a medical device, but the series 6 and later models can measure blood oxygen levels and can be used as substitutes."

       If the blood oxygen level falls below 93, a warning sound will go off, and doctors will immediately check the patient's condition, and depending on the level of urgency, the patient will be transported to a hospital. Ten sets of equipment will be prepared and they will be available for test operations starting later this month.

       (Japanese original by Yuki Motohashi, Hiratsuka Local Bureau)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0