Apple Hires Chief Medical Officer From Pulse Oximetry Company Masimo, Possibly for iWatch Team

Over the course of the last year, Apple has made several hires from the medical and sensor field, presumably to bolster the team of experts working on its much-rumored smart watch project, and MacRumors today learned of another high-profile sensor expert that has joined the company.

Michael O'Reilly, M.D., formerly the Chief Medical Officer and EVP of Medical Affairs at Masimo Corporation, left his position in July of 2013 to take on a role at Apple, possibly on the iWatch team. News of O'Reilly's employment at Apple was first leaked to MobiHealthNews last week and when contacted for comment earlier today, Masimo told MacRumors it "could not dispute" what had been reported.

While O'Reilly was at Masimo, the company developed several cutting edge pulse oximetry devices, including the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter that connects to the iPhone and gives readings via an accompanying app. The iSpO2, which takes its readings from a finger, is designed to measure both oxygen saturation in the blood and pulse rate, with technology that allows it to take readings during movement and with low blood flow.

ispo2pulseoximeterdevice

The iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter for iPhone

While it is not clear what position O'Reilly holds with Apple or how his pulse oximetry expertise will be used by the company, he does join a number of other hires in the medical field that have reportedly been recruited for the iWatch team. In 2013, Apple hired several scientists and executives from notable sensor companies like AccuVein, C8 MediSensors, and Senseonics, and two weeks ago, another report pointed to two additional hires in the sensor field.

Reports have suggested that Apple's smart watch project, the iWatch, could focus heavily on health sensors and biometrics, possibly including features like a pedometer and a heart rate monitor. Apple's multitude of hires in the health field does suggest, however, that the company could include even more advanced sensor technology in the iWatch or in a future product.

With the addition of O'Reilly, Apple has now hired employees with expertise in pulse oximetry, vasculature visualization (vein finding), non-invasive glucose monitoring, blood chemistry monitoring via microneedle, heart/breath rate monitoring, and fitness. Notably, several hires have also had experience with low-profile, non-invasive biosensor devices.

On his LinkedIn page, O'Reilly is also listed as both an Adjunct Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Michigan and a Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care at the University of California, Irvine.

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 10
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Caution)

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Air Colors Thumb 2

iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air Rumored to Come in These 9 Colors

Friday July 11, 2025 12:30 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air will be available in a total of nine color options, according to new information coming out of Asia. The iPhone 17 Air's expected color options. According to the leaker going by the account name "yeux1122" on the Korean blog Naver, accessory manufacturers are now producing camera protector rings for the iPhone 17 and iPhone 17 Air in colors to match their...

Top Rated Comments

Sky Blue Avatar
150 months ago
damn! this iwatch is going to be a mobile hospital!
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
o0smoothies0o Avatar
150 months ago
I hope people can understand the potential of this product by now.

Yeah, the sad part is that people still don't. 'Watches are useless'. Good thing Apple actually has intelligent, imaginative people working for them, as opposed to the people who can't even think past 'It tells time'.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
150 months ago
The only thing I don't understand is whether or not this will be stand-alone device or not.
The only thing? Nobody knows any thing.

----------

damn! this iwatch is going to be a mobile hospital!
Just wait till you see the prostate exam app!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rayd5365 Avatar
150 months ago
it seems that the watch is not nearly as close to being finished as i would have hoped. if they are still hiring people for sensors they can't possibly be finished with the design or testing of the watch. hopefully they speed things up! :apple:

Note though that the hire was supposedly made last July….
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
150 months ago
I hope it doest require a probe :eek:

Let's put it this way: It will put the "i" in iWatch.

----------

At last, the penny has dropped for the watchers.

The iWatch may well have some form of simple monitoring, but I reckon Apple is going much further into the medical field.

Already iPads are used extensively in hospitals for displaying scan and x-ray results. Integrated medical systems could be the next big field for Apple, just as instrumentation was for Hewlett-Packard in the 1960s. Could stray into Agilent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agilent_Technologies)'s backyard.

.

I suspect you are onto something This is why I thought Apple might make a play for the remnants of Kodak, with their medical imaging products and patents.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iLondoner Avatar
150 months ago
At last, the penny has dropped for the watchers.

The iWatch may well have some form of simple monitoring, but I reckon Apple is going much further into the medical field.

Already iPads are used extensively in hospitals for displaying scan and x-ray results. Integrated medical systems could be the next big field for Apple, just as instrumentation was for Hewlett-Packard in the 1960s. Could stray into Agilent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agilent_Technologies)'s backyard.

.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)