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President Biden upholds ITC ruling favoring AliveCor in Apple patent spat

A figure from AliveCor’s patent, included in the PTAB ruling

AliveCor announced today that the final determination ruled on its patent dispute with Apple cleared presidential review.

In December, the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the Apple Watch infringed AliveCor’s patented technology.

Along with its final determination, the ITC issued a limited exclusion disorder (LEO) and a cease and desist order. It set a bond in the amount of $2 per unit of infringing Apple Watches imported or sold during its review period. The LEO goes into effect upon the favorable resolution of appeals in the case. That includes AliveCor’s appeal of a U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board decision.

Mountain View, California-based AliveCor said in a news release that it marks the ITC’s first LEO against Apple to clear presidential review. The company believes it “sends a strong signal” to companies that AliveCor’s IP is prot…

Apple hires Medtronic Chief Human Resources Officer Carol Surface

Medtronic EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Carol Surface [Photo courtesy of Medtronic]Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer Carol Surface will become the first chief people officer at Apple (Nasdaq:APPL) in March.

That’s according to Bloomberg, which reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook disclosed the new hire in a memo to employees.

Surface joined Medtronic — the world’s largest medical device company — in 2013 after C-level HR roles at Best Buy and Pepsi.

Related: The biggest medtech personnel moves in 2022

Surface “brings an incredible depth of experience, which will be invaluable in supporting our teams around the world and building on everything that makes Apple so special,” Apple said in a statement.

It’s not clear whether Medtronic has identified a successor for Surface. MassDevice has reached out to the company for more information and will update this story when more details are avail…

Masimo wins round in patent spat with Apple

Masimo (Nasdaq:MASI) announced that a U.S. Administrative Law Judge in Washington, D.C. ruled in its favor in a patent spat with Apple.

The U.S. International Trade Commission must now consider whether to implement an import ban on Apple Watches, Masimo said in a news release posted last night.

MASI shares were up more than 3% to $156.75 apiece by midday trading today. MassDevice‘s MedTech 100 Index, which includes stocks of the world’s largest medical device companies, was up more than 8%.

The judge ruled that Apple violated Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 by importing and selling certain Apple Watches in the U.S. These watches featured light-based pulse oximetry functionality and components. However, the judge also ruled that Apple did not violate four other patents belonging to Masimo.

According to a news release, the judge said this infringed one of Masimo’s pulse oximeter patents. Apple first released the pulse oximete…

At-home predictive care and the shifting patient experience

The eMed platform connects patients with telehealth providers for home testing. [Photo courtesy of eMed]

These medtech developers are advancing remote patient monitoring, virtual care, and AI predictive care.

Robin Farmanfarmaian

The combination of remote patient monitoring (RPM), virtual care and AI predictive care is changing the patient experience. Instead of the occasional clinic visit, people can interact with their healthcare daily and on-demand.

Here are a few of the medtech startups advancing remote, continuous and predictive care. Together, these companies enable truly personalized care, tailored to someone in their daily life and environment.

Remote patient monitoring (RPM)

There are many technology devices that have cleared the FDA and qualify as remote physiologic monitoring under the Medicare CPT codes. Medicare also has remote therapeutic monitoring CPT codes for musculoskeletal …

ITC rules in favor of AliveCor in patent spat with Apple

A figure from AliveCor’s patent, included in the PTAB ruling

AliveCor announced today that the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that the Apple Watch infringed its patented technology.

Along with the final determination, the ITC issued a limited exclusion disorder (LEO) and a cease and desist order. It set a bond in the amount of $2 per unit of infringing Apple Watches imported or sold during its review period.

In a news release, AliveCor said it could potentially impact sales of “millions of infringing Apple Watches.”

“Today’s ITC ruling is a win for innovation and consumer choice,” said Priya Abani, CEO of AliveCor. “The ruling underscores the importance of upholding intellectual property rights for companies like AliveCor and scores of others whose innovations are at risk of being suppressed by a Goliath like Apple. We look forward to continuing to build and innovate on our cardiac solutions to improve people’s l…

Apple scores a win in IP spat with AliveCor

A figure from AliveCor’s patent from in the PTAB ruling

The U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board has dealt AliveCor a setback in its intellectual property fight with Apple over the technology behind wearable AFib detection.

In a ruling entered yesterday, the PTAB agreed with Apple that AliveCor’s claims around U.S. Patent No. 10,595,731 B2 were unpatentable. The board made the determination based on the IP law concept of obviousness. Basically, someone with ordinary skills in the field would have found the patent obvious. They could have created what AliveCor was patenting based on the research and technological advancements that had already taken place.

The PTAB said: “Considering all the art and argument of record, and the level of ordinary skill in the art, we agree with [Apple] that ‘after an ECG is measured, it would have been obvious to confirm arrhythmia detection using a machine learning algorithm based on the PPG data, motion sens…

FDA clears AFib notification on Apple Watch

An FDA letter confirms that Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) received 510(k) clearance for an irregular heart rhythm notification on the Apple Watch.

The letter, dated Oct. 22, stated that, after reviewing Apple’s 510(k) premarket notification of intent to market the device, the FDA determined that the device is substantially equivalent to legally marketed predicate devices for the indications Apple sought.

Get the full story at our sister site, MassDevice.

FDA clears AFib notification on Apple Watch

An FDA letter confirms that Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) received 510(k) clearance for an irregular heart rhythm notification on the Apple Watch.

The letter, dated Oct. 22, stated that, after reviewing Apple’s 510(k) premarket notification of intent to market the device, the FDA determined that the device is substantially equivalent to legally marketed predicate devices for the indications Apple sought.

Apple designed its “Irregular Rhythm Notification Feature 2.0” (IRNF 2.0) to be comprised of two mobile medical apps — one on Apple Watch and one on the iPhone — that are intended to analyze pulse rate data collected by the watch’s PPG sensor to identify episodes of irregular heart rhythms consistent with AFib and provide a notification to the user.

The background screening tool uses the PPG sensor on the Apple Watch Series 3, Series 4, Series 5 and SE. There is no way for a user to initiate analysis of pulse rate data.

If the irregula…

ITC takes up AliveCore patent complaint against Apple

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has agreed to investigate if Apple has imported devices that infringe three patents held by AliveCor.

AliveCor filed the ITC complaint in April, alleging that Apple violated U.S. tariff law by importing certain Apple watches that infringe patents for its ECG technology. Mountain View, Calif.-based AliveCor wants the trade commission to issue a limited exclusion order and a cease-and-desist order against Apple, according to an ITC news release.

Get the full story on our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Apple debuts software for people with disabilities

[Image from Apple]Apple yesterday unveiled next-generation software features designed for people with mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive disabilities.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple’s operating systems are set to undergo software updates later this year that would allow people with limb differences to navigate the Apple Watch using AssistiveTouch, while the iPad will support third-party eye-tracking hardware for easier control and low-vision communities, according to a news release.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Apple debuts software for people with disabilities

[Image from Apple]

Apple yesterday unveiled next-generation software features designed for people with mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive disabilities.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple’s operating systems are set to undergo software updates later this year that would allow people with limb differences to navigate the Apple Watch using AssistiveTouch, while the iPad will support third-party eye-tracking hardware for easier control and low-vision communities, according to a news release.

AssistiveTouch for watchOS uses built-in motion sensors like the gyroscope and accelerometer, along with the optical heart rate sensor and on-device machine learning, to detect subtle differences in muscle movement and tendon activity, allowing users to navigate a cursor on the display through a series of hand gestures, such as a pinch or a clench.

The iPad’s eye-tracking support makes it possible for …

Apple Watch may someday detect blood sugar, blood pressure levels

Rockley Photonics indicated in an SEC filing that it may work with Apple in the future to introduce new monitoring functions to the Apple Watch.

The Telegraph first reported on the filing, which indicated that the company’s operating financial results will depend on revenue that is attributable to a few of its large customers, including Apple — its largest.

“Rockley has a master supply and development agreement with this customer, which provides a general framework for Rockley’s transactions with it,” the filing said. “This agreement continues until either party terminates for material breach. Under this agreement, Rockley has agreed to develop and deliver new products to this customer at its request, provided it also meets Rockley’s business purposes, and has agreed to indemnify it for intellectual property infringement or any injury or damages caused by Rockley’s products.”

The filing details the United Kingdom-based compa…