Although smartwatches are not considered medical devices, experimental validation of their accuracy in detecting hypoxemia is necessary due to their potential use in monitoring conditions manifested by a prolonged decrease in peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂), such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, sleep apnea syndrome, and COVID-19, or at high altitudes, e.g., during sport climbing, where the use of finger-sensor-based pulse oximeters may be limited. The aim of this study was to experimentally compare the accuracy of SpO₂ measurement of popular smartwatches with a clinically used pulse oximeter according to the requirements of ISO 80601-2-61. Each of the 18 young and healthy participants underwent the experimental assessment three times in randomized order—wearing Apple Watch 8, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, or Withings ScanWatch—resulting in 54 individual experimental assessments and complete datasets. The accuracy of the SpO₂ measurements was compared to that of the Radical-7 (Masimo Corporation, Irvine, CA, USA) during short-term hypoxemia induced by consecutive inhalation of three prepared gas mixtures with reduced oxygen concentrations (14%, 12%, and 10%). All three smartwatch models met the maximum acceptable root-mean-square deviation (≤4%) from the reference measurement at both normal oxygen levels and induced desaturation with SpO₂ less than 90%. Apple Watch 8 reached the highest reliability due to its lowest mean bias and root-mean-square deviation, highest Pearson correlation coefficient, and accuracy in detecting hypoxemia. Our findings support the use of smartwatches to reliably detect hypoxemia in situations where the use of standard finger pulse oximeters may be limited.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a disease with rapid progression. The use of mechanical ventilation helps to manage symptoms and delays death. Use in a home environment could reduce costs and increase quality of life. The aim of this study is a cost–utility analysis of home mechanical ventilation in adult patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis from the perspective of healthcare payers in the Czech Republic. The study evaluates home mechanical ventilation (HMV) and mechanical ventilation (MV) in a healthcare facility. A Markov model was compiled for evaluation in a timeframe of 10 years. Model parameters were obtained from the literature and opinions of experts from companies dealing with home care and home mechanical ventilation. The cost–utility analysis was carried out at the end of the study and results are presented in incremental cost–utility ratio (ICUR) using quality-adjusted life-years. Uncertainty was assessed by one-way sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis. The cumulative costs of HMV are CZK 1,877,076 and the cumulative costs of the MV are CZK 7,386,629. The cumulative utilities of HMV are 12.57 quality-adjusted life year (QALY) and the cumulative utilities of MV are 11.32 QALY. The ICUR value is CZK-4,403,259. The results of this study suggest that HMV is cost effective.

Background: In recent years, there has been an increasing effort to take advantage of the potential use of low magnetic induction devices with less than 1 T, referred to as Low-Field MRI (LF MRI). LF MRI systems were used, especially in the early days of magnetic resonance technology. Over time, magnetic induction values of 1.5 and 3 T have become the standard for clinical devices, mainly because LF MRI systems were suffering from significantly lower quality of the images, e.g., signal–noise ratio. In recent years, due to advances in image processing with artificial intelligence, there has been an increasing effort to take advantage of the potential use of LF MRI with induction of less than 1 T. This overview article focuses on the analysis of the evidence concerning the diagnostic efficacy of modern LF MRI systems and the clinical comparison of LF MRI with 1.5 T systems in imaging the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, and organs of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis. Methodology: A systematic literature review of MEDLINE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and CENTRAL databases for the period 2018–2023 was performed according to the recommended PRISMA protocol. Data were analysed to identify studies comparing the accuracy, reliability and diagnostic performance of LF MRI technology compared to available 1.5 T MRI. RESULTS: A total of 1275 publications were retrieved from the selected databases. Only two articles meeting all predefined inclusion criteria were selected for detailed assessment. Conclusions: A limited number of robust studies on the accuracy and diagnostic performance of LF MRI compared with 1.5 T MRI was available. The current evidence is not sufficient to draw any definitive insights. More scientific research is needed to make informed conclusions regarding the effectiveness of LF MRI technology.

Background: Pulse oximetry is a non-invasive method for continuous monitoring of peripheral blood oxygen saturation (SpO₂) to estimate arterial oxygen saturation. Previous studies suggested that SpO₂ measurements show variability depending on the particular finger that is used for measurement. To date, no study has compared all fingers for SpO₂ under hypoxemia and during continuous simultaneous monitoring with randomization of finger sensor placement. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the inter-finger variability of SpO₂ values during sequential desaturation and step resaturation. Methods: Forty-three out of forty-five healthy participants (age 23.0 ± 1.8 years, BMI 24.0 ± 4.4 kg·m^–2) completed the experimental assessment with short-term induced hypoxemia by consecutive inhalation of three prepared gas mixtures with reduced oxygen concentrations (14%, 12%, and 10%). SpO₂ was measured continuously with the Masimo Radical-97 (Masimo Corp., Irvine, CA, USA) pulse oximeters. Results: The SpO₂ measured on the thumb was lower than all other fingers by 0.6% to 0.7% SpO₂, a systematic difference that is less than the clinically accepted accuracy of oximeters. No difference in SpO₂ dynamics was found between any of the fingers during step resaturation. Conclusions: A systematic difference in measured SpO₂ exists between the thumb and the other fingers during desaturation, which should be considered at least as well as the impact of the performance of a particular oximeter, sensor placement or anatomical variability.