Apple working on breakthrough glucose sensors for Apple Watch, report says
Apple has reportedly hired a team of biomedical engineers to develop noninvasive glucose sensors for integration in Apple Watch, a solution that could lead to continuous monitoring of blood sugar levels for users with diabetes.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNBC on Wednesday reported Apple's small biomedical engineering group is part of a "super secret" initiative, first imagined by late cofounder Steve Jobs, to create a noninvasive glucose monitoring solution. The company has been working on the project for at least five years, the report said.
Tracking blood sugar levels without drawing blood is a difficult feat, and many large corporations have attempted to create similar systems without success. If Apple is able to succeed where others have failed, it would not only be a boon for Apple Watch, but validate the company's recent interest in medical research.
The diabetes research team, stationed in an office building somewhere in Palo Alto, is said to be ready to conduct feasibility trials, a major step toward gaining necessary federal regulatory approvals. Apple could begin testing the process at clinical sites in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the report.
While details are sparse, sources claim Apple's technology involves optical sensors capable of measuring indications of glucose in the blood stream through a user's skin. About 30 people were said to be part of the engineering team a year ago, though that number could have increased following acquisitions and recent hires from the biomedical field.
For example, Apple last June hired Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a pediatric specialist who formerly worked for Stanford Children's Health. Kumar was one of the first medical professionals to take advantage of Apple's HealthKit platform, facilitating a ResearchKit study on Type 1 diabetes monitoring. Though his previous work focused on diabetes, it is unclear if Kumar is part of Apple's glucose monitoring technology team.
Perhaps most closely aligned with today's report is a 2013 hiring spree that picked up former employees of defunct biotech company C8 MediSensors. Before going out of business, C8 specialized in non-invasive sensors capable of tracking substances in the body, including glucose.
Since the debut of HealthKit in 2014, Apple has increasingly focused on health and fitness products. A report last year suggests the company's interest in health sciences was sparked by a challenge from Jobs, who wanted to fix what he viewed as a disjointed healthcare system. Jobs believed technology could solve a data gap between patients and healthcare professionals, an idea that gave rise to HealthKit, ResearchKit and ultimately Apple Watch.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, CNBC on Wednesday reported Apple's small biomedical engineering group is part of a "super secret" initiative, first imagined by late cofounder Steve Jobs, to create a noninvasive glucose monitoring solution. The company has been working on the project for at least five years, the report said.
Tracking blood sugar levels without drawing blood is a difficult feat, and many large corporations have attempted to create similar systems without success. If Apple is able to succeed where others have failed, it would not only be a boon for Apple Watch, but validate the company's recent interest in medical research.
The diabetes research team, stationed in an office building somewhere in Palo Alto, is said to be ready to conduct feasibility trials, a major step toward gaining necessary federal regulatory approvals. Apple could begin testing the process at clinical sites in and around the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the report.
While details are sparse, sources claim Apple's technology involves optical sensors capable of measuring indications of glucose in the blood stream through a user's skin. About 30 people were said to be part of the engineering team a year ago, though that number could have increased following acquisitions and recent hires from the biomedical field.
For example, Apple last June hired Dr. Rajiv Kumar, a pediatric specialist who formerly worked for Stanford Children's Health. Kumar was one of the first medical professionals to take advantage of Apple's HealthKit platform, facilitating a ResearchKit study on Type 1 diabetes monitoring. Though his previous work focused on diabetes, it is unclear if Kumar is part of Apple's glucose monitoring technology team.
Perhaps most closely aligned with today's report is a 2013 hiring spree that picked up former employees of defunct biotech company C8 MediSensors. Before going out of business, C8 specialized in non-invasive sensors capable of tracking substances in the body, including glucose.
Since the debut of HealthKit in 2014, Apple has increasingly focused on health and fitness products. A report last year suggests the company's interest in health sciences was sparked by a challenge from Jobs, who wanted to fix what he viewed as a disjointed healthcare system. Jobs believed technology could solve a data gap between patients and healthcare professionals, an idea that gave rise to HealthKit, ResearchKit and ultimately Apple Watch.
Comments
I'm curious and really have no idea, but would glucose sensors be handy for people who do not have diabetes? For instance, would they be able to tell you when you need to be careful or track your levels over time and then be able to tell you that at this rate you're likely heading toward diabetes, time to change your diet?
If so, that could be useful for more people than those who already have diabetes.
If this is true, I wonder if any future glucose-monitoring tools would face the same challenges.
More than 30 000 people are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes every year, many of those are young kids and toddlers. For sufferers this would obviously be great news and for parents of kids with diabetes this would make a massive difference.
If the Apple Watch can do this without the user requiring a continuous supply of expensive 'patches' or whatever it would be truly disruptive. The problem with companies that develop medical devices or solutions to help people live with a given condition is that it is rarely in their interest to reduce cost, nor to find a solution that will put them out of business. If all that is needed is an Apple Watch that would be a massive cash saving for individuals or insurance companies alike.
Of of course if we could disrupt the food industry and banish most carbohydrates from our diets many of these costs would automatically vanish, but unfortunately that is unlikely to ever happen. I read somewhere that the sugar companies spend more than any other lobbying.
Hemoglobin, hematocrit levels. Blood oxygen is probably already there on the Watch, but they have chosen not to do it, maybe because of medical device regulations. A blood pressure band for the Watch seems eminently doable. Cholesterol levels? Triglycerides? Platelets? Clotting factors? Vitamin levels?
Blood glucose will be a rather large step.
It was tattoos and hair, not dark skin.
I don't have (yet) an Apple Watch but if they were to perfect a way to do it, I'd jump on the Apple-watch bandwagon just for that alone.
I am a type II diabetic. I check my glucose levels once in 3 days. I stagger the time - before breakfast, 2 hours after, 2 hours before lunch, 2 hours after... That way I get readings over the course of the day. Do you stagger your checks as well?
If Apple can pull off constant monitoring of glucose levels, the Apple Watch will go from "must have" to "indispensable".
Let's start with the A processors, move on to the display controllers in the 5K iMac, the W1 chip in the headphones…