For the past year, Apple Watches have been attributed with discovering or identifying heart ailments and being able to save lives on different occasions. Now, New York University doctor is reportedly suing the technology giant for using the feature that made all health-related things possible. Joseph Wiesel, a cardiologist, claimed that the company used his patented heartbeat-monitoring tech and incorporated it into its Apple watches after telling Apple about his innovative creation in September 2017.
In an article USA, Today posted on its website, and it was stated that Wiesel was awarded a patent in 2006 for an approach of, and apparatus "for detecting atrial fibrillation or AFib." AFib is an irregular and frequently fast heart rate that causes approximately 750,000 hospital confinements every year. The patent of Wiesel, according to the same article, uses light and sensors to detect heart rhythms, which can be seen via a digital display. Other approaches to diagnose and screen people with AFib are also available. An orderly review of mobile health gadgets for AFib discovered 22 research studies from 2014 to 2019 that reported on most of them.
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Lawsuit Filed
In a lawsuit filed late last week, the complainant alleged he sent Apple details about the patent after the latter's release of its Apple Watch Series 3. One year later, the iPhone manufacturer released its Series 4, this time featuring the AFib detection. Earlier editions of the said smartwatch are said to have gotten updates to include heart-monitory features, too.
Incidentally, the smartwatches of Apple don't absolutely detect medical conditions. Rather, they provide notifications should unusual, or abnormal heartbeat has been detected. In connection to this, Wiesel has necessitated that the tech giant pays him royalties for including his intellectual property in its smartwatches. Additionally, Wiesel wants the California-based firm to stop using his patent, as well, without his permission.
Apple's Refusal to the Negotiation
Based on court documents, Wiesel claimed that Apple "refused to negotiate in good faith to prevent the lawsuit from taking place." He alleged, too, that Apple is aware of his its use of his intellectual property without his permission and that it is related to its business tactics. Relatively, Apple representatives who are not usually commenting on litigation did not respond to a query about the lawsuit right away.
Apple Watches have turned out to be an industry leader in the categories of wearables and earned more than $24 billion "in sales in the fiscal year that concluded September," as reported by Bloomberg. Apple has been accounted for more than a quarter of all wearables shipped last year. On its Apple Watch Guide page, Apple has indicated a specified health and activity monitoring as the primary function of the smartwatch.
Among the functions highlighted on Apple's page include heart rate checker during exercise, monitoring of walking, breathing, "workout and recovery rates during the day, or take a new reading at any time."
