Google gets go ahead for PPG algorithm in Fitbit devices for the US

(Representative Image Courtesy: Fitbit)

Google has announced that Fitbit (part of the company's hardware division) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to include its PPG algorithms in Fitbit devices.

The Alphabet-owned search, software, and hardware giant had purchased Fitbit in 2021 and absorbed it into its hardware division.

"Today, Fitbit received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for our new PPG (photoplethysmography) algorithm to identify atrial fibrillation (AFib)," wrote Google in a blog post.

"The algorithm will power our new Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications feature on Fitbit."

AFib is the term used for an irregular heart rhythm, something that Google says affects nearly "33.5 million people globally." Individuals with AFib have a higher risk of stroke.

The company's new PPG AFib algorithm can passively assess the heart's rhythm in the background, and it can be used both while you are still or while you're asleep. The new system will notify you, in case, it finds anything peculiar.

Google says that the algorithm works by using a heart-rate monitor to detect small changes in the volume of tiny blood cells, which expand and contract when the heartbeats. The measurements will determine an individual's heart rhythms and can alert them in case of irregularities.

Google said that its computations were based on data collected from a "landmark Fitbit Heart Study", which was launched in 2020, and took data from 455,599 participants over five months.