There are a ton of stories about Apple Watch saving people’s lives. This time, a Chicago doctor not only actively recommends Apple Watch to his patients, but this wearable also saved his life recently thanks to the Fall Detection feature.
The story about this Glenview doctor was shared by NBC Chicago. Dr. Thomas Ficho was power washing the bricks of his house when he tried to use the cover on the window well as a stepping stone to reach higher, and then plunged five feet into the basement egress well, the publication reports.
After three to five minutes, Ficho said he was able to climb out of the well himself. When he did, there was a Glenview police officer standing on his lawn. The officer asked him if he was OK or needed a paramedic. Ficho said “no” but asked the officer how he knew the internist needed help. The officer pointed to Ficho’s watch.
Since Dr. Ficho was wearing an Apple Watch Series 5, the wearable was able to detect the fall. According to Apple, starting with the Series 4 model, these devices utilize a next-generation accelerometer and gyroscope to identify when a hard fall occurs. “By analyzing wrist trajectory and impact acceleration, Apple Watch sends the user an alert after a fall, which can be dismissed or used to initiate a call to emergency services. If Apple Watch senses immobility for 60 seconds after the notification, it will automatically call emergency services and send a message along with the location to emergency contacts,” and that’s what happened with Dr. Ficho.
“I was really surprised,” Ficho said. “I didn’t put it together immediately that my watch was going to do that.”
Although the doctor is not an Apple aficionado user, as he works in a PC-based office, he says he always tells his patients to wear an Apple Watch.
Since most of them are over 60, Dr. Ficho tells his patients that they have to have watches like this. During COVID-19, he asked them to monitor their heart rhythms and the oxygen in their blood with the Apple Watch.
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