• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

MassDevice

The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice

  • Latest News
    • Cardiovascular
    • Orthopedics
  • Wall Street Beat
    • Funding Roundup
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Podcasts
    • MPR: Breakthrough Products Series
  • Resources
    • About MassDevice
    • Newsletter Signup
    • Job Board
    • Leadership in Medtech
    • Manufacturer Search
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Videos
    • Whitepapers
  • DeviceTalks Tuesdays
    • DeviceTalks
  • Coronavirus: Live updates
Home » Doctor sues Apple over AF detector

Doctor sues Apple over AF detector

December 30, 2019 By Nancy Crotti

Apple WatchA New York cardiologist claims Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) is infringing his patent for a device to detect atrial fibrillation.

Dr. Joseph Wiesel, a clinical assistant professor of cardiology at New York University School of Medicine, was granted the 7,020,514 patent in 2006 for a “method and apparatus to determine possible atrial fibrillation.”  The apparatus comprises a detector, a processor, an algorithm and an indicator to detect and communicate the possible atrial fibrillation.

The detector covered by the patent contains an inflatable-cuff device and a sphygmomanometer and can detect changes in light transmitted through a person’s appendage. The indicator includes “an output device selected from a group consisting of a printer, a display, an auditory signal generator, and a vibration signal generator,” the ‘514 patent says. “Pulse beats may be monitored by use of an inflatable cuff wrapped around a person’s appendage, such as an arm, which detects the pulse beats by either oscillometric or auscultatory means.”

Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat that can eventually cause blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart-related complications. Approximately 2.7 million Americans are currently living with AF, according to the American Heart Association.

Wiesel claims to have “invented and perfected a method and device for detecting atrial fibrillation by assessing whether a pulse rate pattern is regular or irregular, using sphygmomanometry or photoplethysmography.”

Wiesel has been issued five patents and has filed patent applications for other unspecified items to detect atrial
fibrillation, according to the lawsuit. Wiesel claims he notified Apple in 2017 that the company was infringing the ‘514 patent with all five series of the Apple Watch. Wiesel also claims he provided Apple with “detailed claim charts highlighting the elements” of his patent and “mapping them to elements of Apple’s Watch products.”

Apple watches use a photoplethysmography sensor to detect atrial fibrillation and a method for monitoring changes in light transmitted through an appendage to detect irregular pulse rhythms, the lawsuit says.

“Dr. Wiesel’s patented technology is a critical part of the Apple Watch and is used to drive customer demand,” it adds. “Dr. Wiesel’s innovations, as described in the patent-in-suit, were pioneering steps in atrial
fibrillation detection.”

The lawsuit also cites the 419,297-patient Apple Heart Study, conducted by Stanford Medical School, to that the device is capable of aiding in the detection of atrial fibrillation using its light-sensor based technology. Results of that study were published in November in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

Filed Under: Cardiovascular, Featured, Legal News, Patent Infringement, Patient Monitoring Tagged With: Apple Watch

In case you missed it

  • House committee investigates $70M federal contract for AutoMedx ventilators
  • Edwards Lifesciences misses on earnings in Q4
  • COVID-19 assays sales power Hologic to Street-beating Q1
  • Stryker beats the Street on earnings but misses on revenue in Q4
  • How CGMs can inspire lifestyle changes
  • Johnson & Johnson gearing up for COVID-19 vaccine data announcement
  • Sanofi to provide COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing for rival Pfizer
  • Adapting to Pharma’s Next Normal – 2021 Pharmaceutical Trends
  • COVID-19 test sales boost Abbott in Street-beating Q4
  • Varian posts mixed bag Q1 results, expects Siemens Healthineers takeover to complete in early 2021
  • BD touts study of antigen test over molecular test for identifying infectious COVID-19 cases
  • Titan Medical closes on $11.5M offering
  • GE ticks up on mixed-bag Q4
  • BD CEO Polen to also serve as board chair
  • Moderna details ‘proactive’ strategy to fight emerging COVID-19 variants  
  • Surmodics’ DCB shown non-inferior to Medtronic’s In.Pact Admiral
  • Longeviti Neuro Solutions ClearFit implant wins FDA clearance for use in ultrasound

RSS From Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • House committee investigates $70M federal contract for AutoMedx ventilators
    A Congressional committee has launched an investigation into a $70 million White House contract for ventilators that reportedly are inadequate to treat people with COVID-19. The Department of Defense signed a $16.2 million contract in spring 2020 to buy SAVe II ventilators, manufactured by AutoMedx (Addison, Tex.), from the supplier Combat Medical Systems, according to… […]
  • How CGMs can inspire lifestyle changes
    As an early adopter of fitness trackers such as the Fitbit, I’ve long appreciated the power of health data. But my recent experience with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) has done far more to inspire me to look after my health — even as a nondiabetic. I had heard about the potential of such technology… […]
  • COVID-19 mask factory opens in N.J.
    Hudson Holdings Group today announced it has opened a factory to make up to tens of millions of protective masks a month. The Piscataway, N.J., site will produce more than 200 jobs, according to the company, which is in partnership on the project with the State of New Jersey. “Our ultimate goal is to help,”… […]
  • TE Connectivity posts Street-beating Q1 results, medical sales dip 12%
    TE Connectivity (NYSE:TEL) posted first-quarter results today that beat the consensus on Wall Street. The Schaffhausen, Switzerland-based company reported profits of $381 million, or $1.13 per share, on sales of $3.5 billion for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2020, for a bottom-line gain of 1365.4% sales growth of 11.2% compared with Q1 2020. Adjusted to… […]
  • Could this 3-D printed ‘biomesh’ minimize hernia repair complications?
    Some hernia mesh implants have been associated with adverse post-surgical complications. So researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a 3D-printed biomesh to support and reinforce the damaged abdominal wall and facilitate the healing process. Mesh implants may fail because they promote the adhesion of the intestine, liver or other visceral organs to the… […]
  • Superior Sensor Technology launches versatile differential pressure sensors
    Superior Sensor Technology (Santa Clara, Calif.) today announced the launch of differential pressure sensors for industrial applications that support up to seven selectable pressure ranges in one device. Designed for a wide range of applications, the new ND Series sensors support pressure ranges as low as 62.5 Pa/0.25” H2O to as high as 345 mBar/5… […]
  • BD touts study of antigen test over molecular test for identifying infectious COVID-19 cases
    Becton Dickinson (BD) is touting the results of a small, in-house study of its Veritor Plus antigen test over molecular (PCR) tests to indicate whether an infected person is more likely able to spread SARS-CoV-2. The peer-reviewed study compared antigen and PCR test results to positive results using a viral cell culture test. Viral growth… […]
  • TDK adds pressure sensors for ventilators
    TDK Corporation announced the launch of a new range of differential pressure sensors designed as printed circuit boards for use in medical devices. The sensors are designed for measurement ranges of 16 mbar full-scale (FS), 100 mbar FS and 7 bar FS, with accuracy of up to ±1% FS at temperatures from -20 °C to… […]
  • Pediatric device workshop scheduled for February
    A virtual public meeting on pediatric medical device development is scheduled for Feb. 9-11, 2021. Sponsors include the FDA, AdvaMed, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Critical Path Institute, a public-private partnership that receives FDA funding. The System of Hospitals for Innovation in Pediatrics – Medical Devices (SHIP-MD) Virtual Workshop will focus on the… […]
  • Pedra wins breakthrough nod for perfusion system
    Singapore-based Pedra Technology announced today that the FDA has granted the company breakthrough device designation for the periprocedural use of its Xauron perfusion system in the treatment of critical limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). CLTI is a severe form of peripheral artery disease (PAD) that is defined as ischemic rest pain, tissue loss or gangrene (tissue death) that… […]
  • Freudenberg Medical expands U.S. molding operations
    Freudenberg Medical announced that it has expanded injection molding operations at its Baldwin Park, Calif., operation, which is focused on thermoplastics. Freudenberg Medical Baldwin Park has added six injection molding machines including three new Arburg molding machines, a work cell for two-shot molding and a Wittmann Battenfeld micro-molding machine with in-process visual inspection capability. The… […]

Primary Sidebar

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Need Medtech news in a minute?
We Deliver!

MassDevice Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in med tech. Sign up today.

Tweets by @MassDevice
MDO ad

Footer

MASSDEVICE MEDICAL NETWORK

DeviceTalks
Drug Delivery Business News
Medical Design & Outsourcing
Medical Tubing + Extrusion

MASSDEVICE

Subscribe to MassDevice
Advertise with us
About
Contact us

Add us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Connect with us on LinkedIn Follow us on YouTube

Copyright © 2021 · WTWH Media LLC and its licensors. All rights reserved.
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media.

Advertise | Privacy Policy | RSS