Apple is working on adding non-invasive blood glucose monitoring to its Apple Watch, which would make a massive breakthrough for people with diabetes.
Key Details
- Apple has worked for over a decade on creating a non-invasive blood glucose monitoring device that can test glucose in the blood without having to prick the skin, and the company has hit significant milestones.
- Apple thinks it could market its non-invasive monitoring methods and eventually integrate a small enough device to add it to the Apple Watch.
- There are still years of work ahead. Around one in 10 Americans has diabetes. Today, those suffering must draw blood—a minor painful procedure they must perform regularly. A non-invasive device could immediately leap frog to the top of this medical sector.
- Apple says the device still has years to go but could eventually go to market and be a necessity for all people with diabetes, landing Apple a secure spot in the world of health care.
Why it’s news
Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy and does not accurately create insulin.
People with diabetes have to prick their skin to get a blood sample to check how much glucose is in the blood, and companies have worked for decades to create a non-invasive device to do so, and Apple has recently hit major milestones on the endeavor.
The technology company has been secretly working to develop noninvasive and continuous blood glucose monitoring and has made major progress, although the company says it still has years before the devices are perfect.
The major goal is to perfect the device and make it small enough to be placed in an Apple Watch to monitor blood glucose levels constantly. If this device were perfected and taken to market, it would completely disrupt the healthcare industry.
The device would become a necessity for those with diabetes and could help save lives and make a permanent spot for Apple in the healthcare market.
Apple has taken a different approach to creating the device using a chip technology called silicon photonics and a measurement process known as optical absorption spectroscopy.
The system uses lasers to emit specific wavelengths of light into an area below the skin where there is interstitial fluid—substances that leak out of capillaries—that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is then reflected back to the sensor to indicate glucose concentration. An algorithm then determines a person’s blood glucose level, according to Bloomberg writer Mark Gurman.
Apple has hundreds of engineers working on the project and has tested the product on multiple people over the last decade. The device seems to be working but needs to be made smaller, according to people familiar with the project.
Apple says the device possibly has years to go, but significant advances are continuously being made.