The various features of Apple Watch help people in need in various ways. However, it is rarely used by medical professionals as a tool to help save lives in emergency situations where resources are very limited. On a Ryanair flight from Birmingham, England to Verona, Italy on January 9, a woman in her 70s was found to be short of breath, and the cabin crew immediately searched for a doctor on the plane.
NHS doctor Rashid Riaz was on the flight and came to help.
The woman, who is said to have a history of heart disease, did not immediately respond to a doctor's query, the BBC reported.
As part of the effort, Dr. Riaz used an Apple Watch borrowed from the crew to try to monitor her vital signs. "The Apple Watch helped me detect that the patient's blood oxygen saturation was very low," he explained.
Oxygen bottles were used on the woman until the plane landed in Italy an hour later. With the help of medical staff, the passenger quickly recovered and got off the plane.
Dr. Riaz commented: "During this flight, I myself learned a lot about how to use this gadget. It was a lesson in how to improve the flight journey by [handling] such emergencies with a basic gadget that is easily available today".
The Apple Watch's blood oxygen feature has been at the center of U.S. patent infringement lawsuits and injunctions, with Apple removing the feature in the U.S. in an attempt to appease courts.
Massimo CEO Joe Kiani believes Apple infringes on his company's patents, saying in a January 18 interview that Apple "disguises the product they offer consumers as a reliable medical pulse oximeter even though it is not." "I really believe wholeheartedly that consumers are better off not using it," Chiani insisted.
Apple advises on its website that the measurements in the watchOS Blood Oxygen app are "not intended for medical use" and are designed for "general fitness and health purposes only."