Apple launched the Apple Watch Series 4 not too long ago and the device comes with several new capabilities, such as fall detection and a built-in ECG monitoring tool. Now in the past we have heard stories of how the Apple Watch has saved many lives by alerting the wearer to abnormal heart rates, but it seems that the Series 4 could be even better at doing so.In a post on TidBITS (via 9to5Mac), a paramedic with over 25 years of experience by the name of Rich Mogull has shared his thoughts on the device, and how he believes that it has the capability of saving lives. Mogull seems to talk mostly about the fall detection feature, where he notes that as a paramedic, “slip and fall” calls seem to be one of the more common calls that they get, especially amongst the elderly.
He also notes that he has encountered some cases in the past where if the person had worn a device like the Apple Watch, it could have resulted in a happier ending. Mogull also doesn’t seem to be too bothered about false positives either. “False positives are a fact of the job, and EMTs deploy all the time on faulty fire alarms and injury-free car accidents. It bothered me only when I had just sat down to dinner.”
While he does seem optimistic about the fall detection feature, Mogull doesn’t seem to be too convinced about the ECG feature of the watch, where he says that the Lead I ECG monitor in the Series 4 probably can’t detect a heart attack, but he does say that it could be potentially invaluable to physicians who are trying to keep track of patients with known heart issues.
In any case we’ve yet to see real-world tests of these health monitoring features, but they do sound promising and if they’re anything like the previous Apple Watches, we expect we should be hearing similar stories in the future.
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