On 12 April 2025, Today at Apple made its health-focused debut in Southeast Asia with a special session at Apple Orchard Road, hosted in collaboration with Medical Channel Asia (MCA). This unique event brought together two leading medical voices — Dr. Sheldon Lee, Consultant Cardiologist from Orchard Heart Specialists, and Dr. Steven Tucker, Cancer Specialist and Founder of Tucker Medical — to share how technology is transforming personal health management.
The session was moderated by Evelyn Yap, a licensed pharmacist and Head of Partnerships at Medical Channel Asia, who guided the conversation and engaged the speakers in a meaningful discussion on how the Apple Watch is bridging the gap between daily health habits and medical insight.
With 48 attendees checked in for the session, and many more general public gathered around the store to listen, we see a growing curiosity around wearable health tools.
Dr. Sheldon Lee: Detecting the Silent Clues of Atrial Fibrillation
Dr. Sheldon Lee began with the question: “Is your heart playing tricks on you?”
He then walked the audience through the seriousness of Atrial Fibrillation (A.Fib), a common but often underdiagnosed heart rhythm disorder. A.Fib increases a person’s risk of stroke by 5 times, making early detection a priority in cardiology.
Dr. Lee demonstrated how the Apple Watch’s ECG feature is changing the game. Referencing a meta-analysis of 11 studies involving over 4,000 participants, he highlighted the device’s 94.8% sensitivity and 95% specificity — making it a valuable screening tool for A.Fib in everyday settings.
He also discussed the association between Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) and A.Fib, and how the Apple Watch’s breathing disturbance monitoring during sleep can provide early clues of OSA, which often remains undiagnosed but can worsen heart conditions.
Dr. Steven Tucker: Data, Empowerment, and Daily Health
Dr. Steven Tucker’s session took a broader look at how technology empowers the patient journey — from prevention to recovery. A health futurist with a strong interest in genomics and lifestyle-based care, Dr. Tucker spoke about how wearable tech enables smarter and more proactive health decisions.
His visuals walked the audience through a cancer patient’s journey. The Apple Watch played a role in not only monitoring vitals, medication reminders, and rest, but also supporting mental wellbeing. He spotlight the wearable’s features like gratitude tracking and mindfulness exercises.
“Technology brings care earlier, closer, and deeper,” he shared.
Tools like the Apple Watch truly allow for better communication between patients and doctors, grounded in real-time data.
Audience Engagement and Reflections
A lively Q&A session followed the end of the presentations. The audience engaged enthusiastically, asking about insurance reimbursement, how data is shared with doctors, and the reliability of wearables as a first alert system.
While the Apple Watch is not a diagnostic device, it offers powerful early signals that prompt people to seek medical advice earlier, improving long-term outcomes.
The session provided a fresh perspective on how we approach health and highlighted the importance of how health tracking can deepen an individual’s conversations with their doctor.” The Apple team shared.
Most importantly, the speakers empowered attendees to better understand and manage their health using Apple Watch and the Health App.
