Apple Watch users have been using the multipurpose device to measure health metrics like heart rate for years. And while its use is intended for humans, it turns out the Apple Watch can help some animals examine their health.
Australian veterinarian and wildlife conservationist Dr. Chloe Buiting shared a look into a novel use of the Apple Watch. While working with a lion under anesthesia, she was able to measure the big cat’s heart rate by wrapping an Apple Watch around its tongue. “It’s a true ‘technology meets conservation’ story,” Buiting captioned the post.
“This finding is particularly handy because one of the biggest challenges of working with animals in the field is the monitoring of anesthesia without many of the regular bells and whistles you’d have in a hospital setting. In addition to this, many of the monitoring devices are often designed for smaller animals, making it extra challenging to get accurate readings from our bigger, spiky, or scaled wildlife patients,” she wrote.
Buiting credited her colleagues for discovering the trick originally, calling it a “game changer” for their craft.
“It even works on elephants (when taped to their ears which is a sight in itself) and is the ultimate ‘work smarter, not harder’ in my book,” she said. “I love the strides technology is making in conservation (intentional or otherwise—I have a feeling this use might not have been Apple’s plan for the device).”
“It’s nothing short of incredible to see all the advances that have been made—all of which are just little reminders of the incredible potential technology holds, and all of the hope that remains for some of our most critically endangered animals,” she concluded.
Just make sure the animal isn’t able to hurt you before trying anything like this.