I agree that the technology is nothing groundbreaking in this case. But the delivery mechanism is what's unique. Most people using HR monitors use them when exercising, then take them off. Had that been the case with this kid, he probably wouldn't be on this earth now. For many people, a watch is something that is worn all day, every day.
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Teen Receives Call From Tim Cook, iPhone, and Apple Internship After Apple Watch Saves His Life
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I agree that the technology is nothing groundbreaking in this case. But the delivery mechanism is what's unique. Most people using HR monitors use them when exercising, then take them off. Had that been the case with this kid, he probably wouldn't be on this earth now. For many people, a watch is something that is worn all day, every day.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/10/11/cool-it-on-the-crossfit-what-s-rhabdomyolysis.html
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/06/health/la-he-muscle-disorder-20110206
http://ksn.com/2015/08/17/six-players-test-positive-for-rhabdomyolysis/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdomyolysis_b_3977598.html
Basically coaches and sports professionals are poorly trained in prevention nor recognition of a life-threatening condition brought on by their own training programs.
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/06/health/la-he-muscle-disorder-20110206
http://ksn.com/2015/08/17/six-players-test-positive-for-rhabdomyolysis/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eric-robertson/crossfit-rhabdomyolysis_b_3977598.html
Basically coaches and sports professionals are poorly trained in prevention nor recognition of a life-threatening condition brought on by their own training programs.
1/ Failed to take a moment to read the article.
2/ Then assumes Cook did this for PR.
I don't get the impression from all the positive steps Tim Cook makes for humanity that he's a shallow guy looking to score PR as you suggest.
PR would tend to come from the company. The article reads like this came from the kid/family.
Was it;
a/ the article lists his name and where he's from, maybe that helps
b/ he has an iphone and has likely shared his personal details with Apple, warranty etc.
c/ he emailed Apple to thank them for the great product that saved his life
d/ his family emailed Apple to thank them for the great product that saved their sons life
e/ all of the above
Regardless, it's a great story, to hear he's okay and that Apple and Tim got involved as they did. This has been a great feel good story that seems to have got lost in the comments at times.
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A better PR move would have been to call the head coach and say, "Since you like running your kids to death, I thought I'd send over some Apple Watches for the whole team!"
Apple has been putting a significant focus on health-related topics in recent months, led by the Apple Watch's health and fitness sensors and associated app functionality. In fact, just a few weeks ago at its "Hey Siri" media event, the company showed off some Apple Watch apps that could help doctors keep track of patients and even read the heartbeat of a baby still in its mother's womb.
Now, the Apple Watch is becoming known as a lifesaver, as well, with a story emerging over the weekend about a teenage football player's abnormal after-practice heartrate and his Apple Watch's tracking that led him to determine something was seriously wrong.
Paul Houle Jr., a 17-year-old Tabor Academy senior in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, discovered after practice one day that he had pain in his chest and back when taking deep breaths, along with a rapid heart rate. Houle was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs after intense exercise results in the leaking of enzymes and proteins into the blood from muscle cells. Some cases can lead to kidney failure and can be fatal and when Houle arrived at the hospital he was suffering from simultaneous heart, liver, and kidney failure.
Although initially a skeptic of the Apple Watch, Houle's father is now a convert and has recently purchased Apple Watches for both himself and his wife, thankful for the lifesaving intervention of Apple's product in his son's life.
Since Houle's story surfaced late last week, word of the ordeal reached Apple CEO Tim Cook, who contacted Houle with a personal phone call a few days after his diagnosis and recovery. "I got a phone call from a California number," said Houle. "And he said 'Hello, my name is Tim Cook, CEO of Apple.'" Cook proceeded to offer the Cape Cod teenager a brand-new iPhone and a summer internship at the company's corporate headquarters in Cupertino next year.
Article Link: Teen Receives Call From Tim Cook, iPhone, and Apple Internship After Apple Watch Saves His Life
This is such a BS and an Apple PR. Heart rate monitors have been out in the market long before Apple watch came out. Plus how does one qualify for an internship just because he/she came out of hospital alive?
LOL...I couldn't believe that I was seeing a modern product when I first saw the photo! I thought..."NO. That just can't be the MS Band, right???!" Inexcusable design, I mean, did they have a garbage man design the look - because that's where it belongs!
At 145 bpm, it's significant enough to at least notice something. That should have been a sign. I don't know, I think I'm being more critical because he admitted he wouldn't have done anything if the Watch didn't tell him his heart rate (props though for at least acknowledging the seriousness and taking action). I'm glad he is okay though.
Exactly. Let's look at the facts here - your heart rate is more than double that of an average resting heart rate, you have pain in your chest and back when you breath. You do nothing because you need a watch to tell you something is wrong.
This kid is a douche, no wonder Apple's PR is all over him.
Ummm... By pulling off a viral / word-of-mouth marketing campaign for apple?
Ok, I thought quotes around qualify would be enough, but I guess not. There is some benchmark of course, but for students it can simply be enrolled in XYZ program and come gain experience in the field. So, for example chemistry students could intern at some company in their junior year. Many times this is done just to see if it's really what they want to do. There are, of course, more serous internships. But the kid in the article is a student, and students simply have to be enrolled/show interest in a particular field to gain internships. This is generally speaking.
I imagine it's more along the lines of Tim Cook thinking what he can do for this guy - you can't help everyone but every now and then an opportunity arises to help just one person. Maybe this guy's hopes for the future are now ruined, maybe he wasn't all about academics and more about sports and this condition means that's all gone now. An internship showing him that there are other opportunities out there at a time of such change in his life might be exactly what he needs.