Doctor uses Apple Watch’s blood oxygen monitor to save a passenger on flight

A doctor made use of Apple Watch’s blood oxygen monitor feature to save the life of a 70-year-old woman in a medical emergency on flight. As per a report by BBC, NHS doctor Rashid Riaz, from Hereford, was travelling by Ryanair from Birmingham to Verona on a flight for a skiing holiday.

During the flight, a passenger experienced shortness of breath when cabin crew asked for a medic onboard to help her out. The doctor came forward in the situation and took Apple Watch from a crew member to monitor the blood oxygen level of the woman.

As per the Apple Watch, the oxygen levels were dipping down and hence, the doctor called for on-board oxygen cylinder. This helped him maintain and blood oxygen levels until the aircraft landed safely in Italy after one hour. The woman was then handed over to the medical staff on-ground for further assistance.

The doctor stated, “The Apple Watch helped me find out the patient had low oxygen saturation. I used a lot of my own learning during this flight on how to use the gadget. It is a lesson in how we can improve in-flight journeys [with] this sort of emergency [via] a basic gadget which nowadays is easily available.”

He further added, “These things can save someone's life in an emergency situation.” While Apple Watch did turn out to be life-saving in this case, Apple’s website clarifies that it is not officially intended for medical use.

Apple had to remove the blood oxygen monitor feature from its latest Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 after being accused of stealing the technology from medical technology company Masimo. This led to a temporary ban of the said Apple Watch models in the US last month, but it was later lifted after Apple agreed to a few conditions.

Also Read: 

OnePlus 12 alternatives in India: Samsung Galaxy S24, Vivo X100, iQOO 12 and more

Fraudsters may no longer be able to use Facebook, Instagram to trick users with fake loan apps ads: Report