AI system
- Role
-
Not assessed
- Configuration
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Apple Watch Series 10 with Fall Detection. [1] [2] [3] [5]
Editor’s note. The Series 10 identification comes from interviews matched to the anonymous clinical report by the circumstances of the collapse and rescue (references 1–3). Neither source explicitly confirms that match.
- Inputs and outputs
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Not assessed
- Autonomy
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Not assessed
- Workflow
-
Fall Detection is enabled on a worn Apple Watch with cellular or phone connectivity. The wearer collapses with an impact the classifier recognizes and then stays immobile. Emergency services and contacts can reach the shared location quickly.
- Human oversight
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Not assessed
- Relation to AI
-
The paper reports that the watch recognized the fall and automatically called 112 and alerted emergency contacts. Those alerts brought responders to the man behind the hedge. Humans provided resuscitation, defibrillation, and surgery. The watch's contribution is documented in the clinical narrative, but the time to rescue or outcome without it cannot be measured from this case. Apple's documentation describes the detection and notification sequence without disclosing the classifier or model version. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
- AI contribution
-
The clinical report states that the watch detected the fall, called emergency services, and alerted emergency contacts. Responders found the man behind a hedge and treated his cardiac arrest. The report does not establish how quickly he would have been found without the watch. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Benefits
- Outcome identifiers
-
Not assessed
- Benefit
-
CPR at 6–7 min, full neurological recovery
- Category
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Improved Physical Health
- Status
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Not assessed
- Beneficiary groups
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People.
- Beneficiaries
-
Not assessed
- Reach
-
Not assessed
- Distribution and access
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Not assessed
- Duration
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Not assessed
- Expected?
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Yes
- Costs and harms
-
Not assessed
Measurement
- Studies
-
Not assessed
- Study design
-
Not assessed
- Measurement
-
Not assessed
- Setting and sample
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Not assessed
- Measures
-
CPR at 6–7 min, full neurological recovery
- Comparison
-
Assumed alternative: being found without the automatic alert, on a remote spot behind a hedge
- Results
-
Assumed comparison. Reference: Zonder die melding had ik hem niet zo snel gevonden (without that alert I would not have found him so quickly). Result: CPR approximately 6–7 min after collapse; full neurological recovery.
- Additional value from AI
-
Not assessed
- Limitations
-
Not assessed
- Denominators
-
Not assessed
- Materials for replication
-
Not assessed
Money
- Kind of value
-
Not assessed
- Amount
-
Not assessed
- Currency and prices
-
Not assessed
- Period and unit
-
Not assessed
- Realization
-
Not assessed
- Recipients and payers
-
Not assessed
- Gross or net
-
Not assessed
- Included costs
-
Not assessed
- Comparison
-
Not assessed
- Method
-
Not assessed
- Return and payback
-
Not assessed
People and places
- Participants
-
Developer:
Apple. - Jurisdictions
-
Benefit: Varsseveld, Gelderland,
Netherlands. Developer: 
United States. - Ownership and control
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Not assessed
- Dependencies
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Not assessed
- Cross-border connections
-
Not assessed
- Geopolitical implications
-
Not assessed
Follow-up
- Conditions for replication
-
The watch has connectivity at the scene. The collapse produces a detectable fall signature. Responders arrive within the window in which resuscitation can succeed.
- Replication attempts
-
1 follow-up entries. Benefit recurred: 1.
- Later findings
-
No development dated after the 1 January 2026 event beyond the case report and interviews already cited was found.
- Availability
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Not assessed
- Institutional decision
-
Not assessed
- Grounds
-
Not assessed
- Action and result
-
Not assessed
- Success criterion
-
Not assessed
Evidence
- Source numbers
-
AIBD-0023-source-0001–0005
- Language
-
Not assessed
- Original evidence
-
Treating clinicians describe the rescue and recovery. Separate patient and family interviews supply the name, date, and watch hardware. Apple explains how Fall Detection works, without verifying this rescue. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
- Access and versions
-
The clinical report and patient interviews describe the rescue. They differ on manual SOS activation and the time to return of circulation. Emergency dispatch records and raw watch logs are unavailable. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
- Supported findings
-
Not assessed
- Evidence links
-
Not assessed
- Evidence strength
-
Not assessed
- Missing evidence
-
Not assessed
Grades
- Assessed benefits
-
People.
- Depth
-
People: 5.
- Reasons
-
People: The patient was alone and hidden from view in cardiac arrest. The automatic alerts brought CPR within 6–7 minutes. He left hospital neurologically intact, which the source presents as life-saving.
- Observed or intended
-
Not assessed
- Rubric
-
Not assessed
- Assessor and date
-
Not assessed
- Alternative assessments
-
Not assessed
Entry details
- Kind
-
Not assessed
- Related entries
-
Same developer and feature family: Apple Watch automatic emergency calling; Fall Detection summoned 112 for a collapsed runner, while Crash Detection placed false 911 calls for skiers, harming Apple Watch users and emergency dispatchers.
- Field
-
Emergency medicine / resuscitation. Consumer wearables.
- Purpose
-
Fall Detection is built to recognize a hard fall and, if the wearer stays immobile, to call emergency services and notify contacts with the location. That is what it did.
- Dates
-
Observed: 1 January 2026. Updated: 24 October 2026.
- Stage
-
Not assessed
- Version
-
SHA-256: 8049d8760651…
References
- Other identifiers
-
AI Incident Database: 463.
- Category mappings
-
Not assessed
- Brief
-
Not assessed
- Revisions
-
15 revisions. Latest: 24 October 2026.
Sources
-
Case report Independent author
Jansen CE, Jaspers Focks J, Manglani Rodriguez S, Pol L, Edgar R, van Royen N, Bonnes JL (2026). Wearable saving lives: a case report. Resuscitation Plus 31:101447.
Original clinical narrative establishes CPR timing, resuscitation, surgery and neurological recovery. Case report; case presentation and discussion; reference 5.
Treating clinical authors report the episode, separately from the device manufacturer.
The Apple Watch detected the fall and automatically alerted predefined emergency contacts as well as the emergency medical services by calling 112.
-
News report Independent author
Interview supplies the name, January 1 event date, family testimony and conflicting SOS/recovery details. Opening narrative and quotations from Alwi and Tristan Siebers.
Original interview. The source does not identify the anonymized journal patient.
1 januari 2026 begint voor de 69-jarige Alwi Siebers als een gewone hardloopdag. De fanatieke loper uit Varsseveld is in training voor de halve marathon van Montferland en trekt eropuit zoals hij dat al jaren doet. Toch gaat het mis. Alwi krijgt tijdens het lopen een hartstilstand.
-
News report Independent author
Kraak J (2026). Apple Watch Series 10 redt leven van Alwi (69) en stuurt 112-melding: zelfs Tim Cook reageert. WANT, 1 May 2026 (with the alert screenshot headed 'do 1 jan, 12:12').
Separate interview and reproduced alert screenshot provide date, watch model and location context. Patient and son interviews; screenshot headed “do 1 jan, 12:12”.
Original reporting from the same witnesses, not another clinical evaluation.
Het ging 1 januari van dit jaar echter mis. “Ik weet via mijn activiteitenlog dat ik om twaalf over twaalf aan mijn trainingsrondje begon.” Niet veel later kreeg zoon Tristan een bericht op zijn smartphone. Dat bericht was niet gestuurd door Alwi zelf, maar door zijn Apple Watch Series 10. Het was een melding dat zijn vader gevallen was.
-
Other Authorship unassessed
Reproduced P2000 dispatch gives contextual street and time. Message 0803203, January 1, 2026, 12:18:59.
Intermediary reproduction of emergency traffic. It does not identify the patient.
0803203 12:18:59 01-01-26 P 2 BON-02 Reanimatie (zichtscherm) Oude Doetinchemseweg Varsseveld 066371
-
Other Developer
Apple. Use Fall Detection with Apple Watch, May 6, 2026; “How it works,” “What happens if your Apple Watch detects that you're immobile,” and notes 1–3.
Manufacturer describes automatic calling, immobility timing, connection requirements and false alerts. How it works; immobility section; notes 1–3.
Primary technical description from Apple, not validation of this rescue.