San Francisco, Jan 17 (IANS): Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek is joining medical device maker Masimo's board of directors, amid an ongoing patent dispute with Apple over its latest smartwatches.

Chapek was the CEO of The Walt Disney Company from February 2020 to November 2022.

“I look forward to helping advance the company’s growth by leveraging their core technologies in the consumer and consumer health spaces,” Chapek said in a statement.

Prior to joining Disney, Chapek worked in brand management at H.J. Heinz Company, and in advertising at J. Walter Thompson.

“We are honoured to have Bob join the Board. As we execute our hospital to home strategy, we expect to benefit greatly from Bob’s role on our Board,.” Said Joe Kiani, Chairman and CEO of Masimo.

Meanwhile, in a document filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Masimo said that Apple has prepared modified Apple Watch models that "do not contain pulse oximetry functionality".

As per the filing, the tech giant will be removing the blood oxygen app from new Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 models sold in the US -- at least temporarily, according to reports.

Apple has resumed the sale of Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 at some of its retail stores in the US, after an appeals court paused the ban on the devices amid an ongoing patent dispute case.