by Apple’s long-standing quest to bring blood glucose monitoring to the Apple Watch appears to be progressing. Bloomberg Sources claim that the company’s no-prick monitoring is now in a “proof of concept” phase and is good enough that it could hit the market once it’s smaller. The technology, which uses lasers to measure glucose concentrations under the skin, was previously the size of a table, but has reportedly progressed to the point that an iPhone-sized wearable prototype is in the works.
The system would not only help people with diabetes monitor their condition, but would ideally alert people with prediabetes, the insiders say. You could then make changes that prevent type 2 diabetes (adult onset).
Apple declined to comment. The project is said to have been in development for a long time. It all started in 2010 when an ailing Steve Jobs had his company buy blood glucose monitoring startup RareLight. Apple is said to have kept the effort secret, operating as what appeared to be an isolated company, Avolonte Health, but folded into a previously undisclosed Exploratory Design Group (XDG). CEO Tim Cook, Apple Watch Hardware Lead Eugene Kim and other top executives were involved.
Any real-world product is likely years away Bloomberg. The industry also doesn’t have a great track record of bringing no-prick monitors to market. In 2018, Alphabet’s healthcare subsidiary, Verily, scrapped plans for a smart contact lens that would have tracked glucose using tears. In other words, even big brands with huge resources don’t have guaranteed success, and it’s not clear how accurate Apple’s solution would be.
There are strong incentives to bring this technology to wearables. Often marketed as a health device, the Apple Watch can detect signs of atrial fibrillation, low blood oxygen levels, and (Series 8 and up) ovulation cycles. Non-intrusive glucose monitoring could make it an essential tool for diabetics – you wouldn’t need a dedicated device that penetrates your skin, such as a B. a continuous glucose sensor that sends information from a thin needle equipped with an electrode to an external receiver. This painless approach could give the Apple Watch an edge over competing smartwatches.
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