Doctor uses flight attendant's Apple Watch to save woman during in-flight health scare
Technology
'I used a lot of my own learning during this flight on how to use the gadget'
(Web Desk) - A British doctor was able to prevent the escalation of a mid-flight medical emergency when he borrowed a flight attendant’s Apple Watch and used it to monitor an elderly woman’s oxygen levels.
Doctor Rashid Riaz was traveling to Italy on January 9, via a Ryanair flight, when a fellow passenger started struggling to breathe. The woman, who was in her 70s, had a history of heart issues, according to the BBC.
Riaz was not wearing an Apple Watch but borrowed one from a staff member, knowing that it would be useful in monitoring her oxygen levels.
"The Apple Watch helped me find out the patient had low oxygen saturation," he told the BBC. "I used a lot of my own learning during this flight on how to use the gadget."
The doctor then used an oxygen cylinder to maintain the woman’s oxygen levels for the remainder of the flight. When the plane landed an hour later, the woman walked off the aircraft with assistance from staff, according to the BBC.
Riaz noted that products like the Apple Watch can be an effective tool to use in emergencies on airplanes but added that there should also be a standardized medical kit on board, including equipment to measure vital signs.
"These things can save someone's life in an emergency situation," he told the BBC.
