On an Italy-bound flight, a woman faced shortness of breath. That is when a doctor used a particular feature of the smartwatch to help the woman's health.
A 70-year-old British woman started having trouble breathing on a flight from the UK to Italy on January 9. The flight crew realized the seriousness of the situation and sought help. Fortunately, there was a National Health Service (NHS) doctor named Rashid Riaz on the flight. Dr. Riaz works at Hereford County Hospital in the UK.
Dr. Rashid Riaz responded that after the initial check-up, he wanted to check the patient’s oxygen saturation level but was unable to do so using the equipment on the flight. Dr. Riaz (43) asked the crew if there was an Apple Watch available to monitor the woman's health. "The Apple Watch helped me find out the patient had low oxygen saturation,” the doctor told the BBC.
Dr. Riaz used the Blood Oxygen app of the smartwatch to determine the woman’s oxygen saturation level. He then used an on-board oxygen cylinder to maintain her oxygen saturation level. Throughout the rest of the journey, the doctor used the smartwatch to monitor the oxygen saturation level of the woman until they safely landed. Dr. Riaz told the BBC that the woman recovered quickly, and she was handed over to the medical staff after landing.
While speaking to BBC medics, he added that he used a lot of his own learning during this flight on how to use the gadget. It was a lesson in how we could improve in-flight journeys with this sort of emergency via a basic gadget, which nowadays is easily available.
However, according to the Apple website, the measurements taken with the Blood Oxygen app are not intended for medical use and are only designed for general fitness and wellness purposes.
The blood oxygen app used by the doctor is now discontinued. The Apple company is now engaged in a patent dispute over this blood oxygen app with a medical technology company. The iPhone maker disclosed that the new release of the Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches will not include this feature.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Komal Bhoi)
