Doctor Uses Flight Attendant’s Apple Watch to Save Passenger

Rashid Riaz, a 43-year-old British doctor working at Hereford County Hospital in England, saved the life of a sick aircraft passenger by utilizing a flight attendant’s Apple Watch, according to the BBC.

On January 9, a woman in her 70s experienced short of breath while flying from Birmingham, England, to Verona, Italy, with Ryanair.

When a crew member inquired about the presence of a doctor on board, Riaz volunteered to assist the woman.

The woman, who has not been recognized publicly, did not initially reply to Riaz’s queries, but after discovering she had a history of cardiac problems, the doctor asked the flight attendant for her Apple Watch to monitor her oxygen levels.

“The Apple Watch helped me find out the patient had low oxygen saturation,” Riaz told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Riaz utilized the watch’s Blood Oxygen app, which is designed for “general fitness and wellness purposes,” according to Apple’s website. According to the website, the software is “not intended for medical use,” yet in this situation, it proved useful.

Riaz requested an oxygen cylinder from the Ryanair crew, which he used to keep the woman’s oxygen saturation stable until they arrived in Italy.

After landing, the woman got extra medical care and rapidly recovered.

“I used a lot of my own learning during this flight on how to use the gadget,” Riaz said in a statement.

“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.”

Riaz praised the airline’s handling of the situation, but suggested that flights carry instruments for taking bodily parameters like as oxygen saturation and blood pressure, as well as determining whether someone is suffering a diabetic emergency.

“These things can save someone’s life in an emergency situation,” he said.

While the Blood Oxygen app proved useful, Apple is involved in a patent fight with Masim, a medical technology business, over their software. Apple said last week that their Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches will not have the blood oxygen app.