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Apple Watch may get noninvasive diabetes monitoring, but not for diabetic people
- Apple is reportedly working on a blood glucose monitoring system that would warn Apple Watch users if they are prediabetic.
- The system isn’t designed to give actual blood sugar readings to diabetes patients.
- Apple’s tech is said to be noninvasive and uses light shined through the skin to measure blood glucose levels.
Bloomberg published an exhaustive article yesterday detailing Apple’s past and future plans for its healthcare business. We found out how Apple was so close to selling an Apple Watch for Android and how the Apple Watch Series 10 could come with BP and Sleep Apnea monitoring. After going through the information in its entirety, it seems Apple is also hoping to get into the diabetes business with blood glucose monitoring.
Apple reportedly doesn’t want its planned diabetes-monitoring Apple Watch system to work for those who suffer from diabetes. Instead, the feature is designed to keep a check on a person’s blood sugar trends and warn them if they become prediabetic.
“What we’re not interested in is post-sick health care,” a person involved in the project told Bloomberg. Others who are a part of Apple’s growing healthcare efforts suggest Apple may not want to use blood sugar monitoring on the Apple Watch as a medical tool because of regulatory concerns and because its technology is not foolproof.
Apple’s noninvasive blood sugar monitoring technique involves shining a light through the skin onto the fluid between the blood vessels and the cells. The light that reflects back can be used to access glucose levels. Of course, Apple’s solution also requires AI to analyze raw data and determine if a person is prediabetic.
“The goal is not only to fix the prick problem but to change the global problem of diabetes,” someone briefed on the tech told Bloomberg.
That said, people familiar with the going-ons at Apple say an Apple Watch featuring blood glucose monitoring is unlikely to be released for at least a few years.