Tim Cook responds to reader's Apple Watch ECG experience
Apple CEO Tim Cook has thanked an AppleInsider reader for telling him a story about how the Apple Watch ECG function detected a heart condition that a hospital didn't previously detect, with Cook saying the stories inspire Apple "to keep pushing forward."
In the email exchange provided to AppleInsider, reader Raymond thanks Cook for "bringing the Apple Watch to market." The evening before the message was sent, Raymond said he "felt strange," and used the ECG feature of his own Apple Watch and that of his wife's to double-check the readings.
After the Apple Watch pair revealed four detections of AFib, Raymond went to hospital to verify the situation. It turns out it was the same hospital that Raymond had visited in July after experiencing chest discomfort, but as he told AppleInsider, despite "a battery of tests and a catheter I was given the all clear."
In a further explanation of events, it was explained Raymond felt "a fluttering in my chest" and took "four separate readings," with the hospital later confirming it to be the case. In his prior visit to the hospital, his battery of tests included a cardiac angiogram and a stress test, but nothing appeared suggesting AFib at all.
"I will make sure all those I care about have an Apple Watch," ends Raymond's email to Cook.
Raymond admitted he wrote to Cook "fully not expecting a response," but received one anyway. Cook's response is brief, stating "I'm so glad you sought medical attention. Thanks for sharing your story with us - it inspires us to keep pushing forward."
The Apple Watch has been the subject of numerous stories where it has detected an ailment or saved someone's life. While many relate to the ECG function and high heart rate notifications, stories also cover the use of other features, including fall detection and using Siri to call for assistance.
In the email exchange provided to AppleInsider, reader Raymond thanks Cook for "bringing the Apple Watch to market." The evening before the message was sent, Raymond said he "felt strange," and used the ECG feature of his own Apple Watch and that of his wife's to double-check the readings.
After the Apple Watch pair revealed four detections of AFib, Raymond went to hospital to verify the situation. It turns out it was the same hospital that Raymond had visited in July after experiencing chest discomfort, but as he told AppleInsider, despite "a battery of tests and a catheter I was given the all clear."
In a further explanation of events, it was explained Raymond felt "a fluttering in my chest" and took "four separate readings," with the hospital later confirming it to be the case. In his prior visit to the hospital, his battery of tests included a cardiac angiogram and a stress test, but nothing appeared suggesting AFib at all.
"I will make sure all those I care about have an Apple Watch," ends Raymond's email to Cook.
Raymond admitted he wrote to Cook "fully not expecting a response," but received one anyway. Cook's response is brief, stating "I'm so glad you sought medical attention. Thanks for sharing your story with us - it inspires us to keep pushing forward."
The Apple Watch has been the subject of numerous stories where it has detected an ailment or saved someone's life. While many relate to the ECG function and high heart rate notifications, stories also cover the use of other features, including fall detection and using Siri to call for assistance.
Comments
1. Better reliability and less placement sensitivity
2. Easening critical charging implementation like Airpower
3. Anticipating on future reverse charging
4. Less internal production cost for Apple
5. Lessening Apple’s public anti-trust profile by opening up a standard that shouldn’t have been proprietary in the first place
I work in the medical field and have seen it firsthand.
As they gather more data and see how the watch can detect things, the wearables will become more and more important to maintaining good health. Some employers already give a discount to employees that wear them and some even will buy them for the employee.
The 5th one is so dumb. The tech industry has become like PC culture. You can't invent anything for yourself and it's offensive if you don't share your success.
The only problem is, every time I have a pain in my arm (e.g., because I slept funny), I end up doing a quick ECG check, just to make sure....
It is already there. It's your regulators or government that are likely the issue. Weird, considering how long ago the US FDA approved this for the Watch.
ECG hardware function is built into Watch 4 and 5, but only turned on in countries where it has received regulatory approval. But approvals can be slow or lobbied against by other device makers or the medical establishment. For example, S. Korea has just approved ECG function after 2 years. This came on the heels of of approval of similar function for the new Samsung Watch 3.
both you and I hope that Apple has applied for various Watch health functions to be approved in most countries it sells Watches in, but the speed (or slowness) of approval is in the hands of governmental health departments or ministries, most of whom have been quite occupied recently. That is no excuse, but it is reality.
If charger technology has become a competitive area of prowess worth protecting, - with the apparent aim of making the highly exciting spare AppleWatch charger market exclusive - the apparent intellectual advancement over the competition may need some serious reconsideration.
Particularly as it seems a punch in their own face merely hampering their own development (ref. AitPower, iOS reverse charging) where they now miss far more profit/competitive edge
You are advised to rephrase your point in a more complimentary manner