You’re reading the web edition of STAT’s Health Tech newsletter, our guide to how technology is transforming the life sciences. Sign up to get it delivered in your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday.

In new memos released this month, the Trump administration spelled out its approach to artificial intelligence. At first glance, one might see similarities between the directives and former President Biden’s lengthy AI executive order. For example, the new memos call for similar oversight structures, including the appointment chief AI officers and governance boards. But in a new analysis, STAT’s Casey Ross and Brittany Trang unpack crucial differences, and how they might impact health care applications for the technology. For example, the Trump administration removes statutory definitions Biden included for algorithmic discrimination, automation bias, and equity. Read more here

Samsung recently announced work with researchers at Stanford Medicine to conduct further study on the sleep apnea detection feature for its Galaxy Watch, which was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration last year. 

The release says the study is “designed to explore potential ways to further enhance Samsung’s sleep apnea feature to better support sleep health through timely interventions.” Looking ahead, the company writes, “efforts will focus on going beyond detection by leveraging AI technology for daily monitoring to sleep apnea management, empowering users with the best possible sleep tools to improve their health.”

That all sounds very interesting, but the ClinicalTrials.gov listing suggests a straightforward study looking at how well the device works specifically for people “with a high likelihood” of having moderate to severe sleep apnea.

I spoke with Robson Capasso, a head and neck surgeon at Stanford and the study’s principal investigator, who declined to say much about the work because the data collection is ongoing. He confirmed that goal was to “check how reliable the device is to detect moderate to severe sleep apnea,” as opposed to hunting for the condition in a general population. Stepping back, Capasso said that he is interested in the potential of wearable devices to expand access to sleep apnea testing to rural and other underserved populations. He expressed hope that devices could be used to explore behavioral interventions for people for whom continuous positive airway pressure devices don’t work, before resorting to surgery. 

Wearable sleep data from Apple and Whoop

Apple and Whoop both recently published data about the relationships between activity and sleep highlighting the range of possible conclusions one can draw, depending on what you go looking for. This kind of research is important because it often informs new feature development by companies.

• Looking at data from the Apple Heart and Movement study, conducted with the American Heart Association and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Apple recently wrote that Apple Watch users who regularly close their activity rings are 48% percent less likely to experience poor sleep quality compared to those who do not. Rings are the watch’s way of visually tracking a user’s progress toward activity goals around movement, exercise, and standing.
• Whoop, maker of an activity tracking wristband, analyzed data from over 14,000 users, including 4 million nights of sleep, and found that exercising too close to bedtime is associated with “delayed sleep onset, shorter sleep duration, lower sleep quality,” and differences in physiologic metrics during sleep. Exercise that ends more than four hours before bed is not associated with any changes in sleep.

Industry news

• Biolinq, which is developing a wearable sensor for blood glucose, activity, and sleep tracking, raised a $100 million Series C round led by Alpha Wave Ventures.
• Assort Health, a developer of voice AI for handling patient calls, raised $26 million co-led by First Round Capital and Chemistry.
• Lyra Health, a provider of mental health services for employers, announced Lyra Empower, a suite of AI products, including features that “will more intelligently anticipate member care needs, match them with the right provider, recommend supportive resources, and coordinate care across benefits.”

What we’re reading

• Subtitling your life, The New Yorker
• FDA Commissioner Marty Makary announces three new hires in leadership team, STAT
• Google could use AI to extend search monopoly, DOJ says as trial begins, Reuters
• NIH bans all future grants to universities with DEI programs or Israel boycotts, STAT