Apple Watch Blood Oxygen Features Appears To Be Life-Saving For Air Passenger

The News Story Features and highlights a life-saving incident involving the Apple Watch.

It was reported that despite recent concerns about the blood oxygen feature of the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 potentially being disabled due to patent infringement, the feature remains functional on devices purchased before any ban by the International Trade Commission (ITC).

In a recent incident, the blood oxygen feature of the Apple Watch played a crucial role in saving the life of a passenger on a plane. The incident occurred a few weeks ago on a Ryanair flight from Birmingham, UK, to Verona, Italy. A woman in her 70s on the flight suddenly experienced shortness of breath.

Fortunately, a doctor was on board. After learning that the woman had a heart condition, the doctor borrowed an Apple Watch from the crew and discovered that the patient’s blood oxygen saturation was dangerously low. The crew then used an oxygen bottle to stabilize the woman’s condition, and she was successfully taken to a hospital in Italy an hour later.

The doctor noted the importance of such gadgets in emergencies, stating that they could save a life in critical situations.

However, due to a patent infringement issue with Masimo’s pulse oximetry technology, the blood oxygen detection feature on the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 series may no longer be available. This restriction is limited to the US market, with models sold outside the US still supporting the blood oxygen detection feature.

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