Lawsuit over heart rate sensor technology in Apple Watch

San Francisco: Apple is facing a lawsuit from a US-based start-up Omni MedSci that claimed the iPhone maker is infringing on its patented technology with the heart rate sensor in Apple Watch.

Michigan-based Omni MedSci develops near-infrared and mid-infrared broadband lasers.

"A Michigan company is suing Apple claiming the technology used to measure heart rate in the latest Apple Watches infringes on its patented technology," Axios reported on Saturday.

Omni MedSci has filed the lawsuit in the US state of Texas, claiming that Apple willfully infringed on its patents and asking for an injunction against Apple along with damages.

"In the lawsuit, the start-up said that it met with Apple from 2014 until 2016 but ultimately the company broke off discussions about a partnership, then introduced technology using its approach," the report added.

Invented by Omni's founder and CTO Mohammed N Islam, US patent numbers "9,651,533" and "9,757,040" were granted in 2017, while US Patent numbers "9,861,286" and "9,885,698" were issued in 2018, according to AppleInsider.

Each patent refers to a wearable device that uses a light source, in some cases near-infrared LED arrays, alongside a receiver to capture non-invasive blood measurements.

Apple Watch uses similar technology to obtain the heart rate of its wearer.

"The lawsuit further notes Greg Joswiak, Apple Vice President of Product Marketing in an email dated July 14, 2016 that invited Islam to discuss the pending technology with a team at Apple," AppleInsider added.