An iPhone-sized prototype of a non-invasive glucose tracker would first need to be scaled down to the size of an Apple Watch, which could take years.
- What’s happening? Apple recently achieved “major milestones”in the development of non-invasive glucose monitoring, claims Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
- Why care? A future Apple Watch with a non-invasive glucometer could quickly become the holy grail for diabetes.
- What to do? Don’t be hopeful. It will take years to miniaturize and bring to market the current iPhone-sized prototype.
Apple’s non-invasive glucose tracker is making headway
A new Gurman article on Bloomberg claims that Apple has a “secret pioneering team”tasked with developing injection-free glucose monitoring for the Apple Watch.
Such an invention promises to measure glucose levels without piercing the skin for blood. The team’s work, disguised as a secret medical startup called Avolonte Health LLC, resulted in “significant progress”and “major milestones.”
The company has tested the glucose technology on hundreds of people over the past decade. In human trials, the system has been used with people who did not know if they had diabetes, as well as people with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes. He compared his own technology to standard tests of blood taken from a vein and samples taken from a skin puncture known as capillary blood.
Anonymous sources at Apple told Gurman that the project, codenamed “N5,”had reached proof-of-concept. Apple is currently working on an iPhone-sized prototype that could be strapped to a person’s biceps, Gurman has one. Apple would have to be significantly miniaturized to make it a feature of future Apple Watches.
Gurman claims that Apple’s glucose tracker will rely on several custom silicon photonic chips and sensors, with TSMC tasked with building the core sensor chip.
Apple is taking a different approach, using chip technology known as silicon photonics and a measurement process called optical absorption spectroscopy. The system uses lasers to emit specific wavelengths of light into an area under the skin where there is interstitial fluid—substances leaking from capillaries—that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is then reflected back to the sensor in such a way that it indicates the concentration of glucose. The algorithm then determines the person’s blood glucose level.
For context, current solutions on the market require patients to stick a needle into themselves several times a day to control their blood sugar levels. Apple is also looking into preventive measures to warn people about the pre-diabetic condition. Read: How to connect your medical records in the Health app
It will take years to bring this to market
However, despite recent advances, Apple’s invention will almost certainly be ready for commercialization in a few years. Keep in mind that the project dates back to the era of Steve Jobs – in 2010, Apple acquired blood glucose monitoring startup RareLight. In other words, the Cupertino-based company has been working on the project for over 12 years.
Hundreds of engineers are working on the project as part of the Apple Exploratory Design Group, or XDG, a previously unreported work similar to Google X. This is one of the most secret initiatives of the famous secret Apple. It employs even fewer people than the development of self-driving cars, overseen by a special projects group, or a mixed reality headset, which is being developed by a technology development group.
Either way, the iPhone maker will need FDA approval if it successfully builds a non-prick blood sugar tracker as a standalone device or a feature of the Apple Watch.
According to Gurman, the company has already “carried out preliminary negotiations to obtain government approval for the system.”Apple may even include such a sensor in future Apple Watch smartbands.
Holy grail for diabetes
Continuous non-invasive glucose monitoring will allow diabetics to better understand which foods are causing blood sugar spikes. Armed with this knowledge, they could change their diet to keep their blood sugar levels constant.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told students at the University of Glasgow in 2017 that he was testing glucose-tracking devices. The CEO was subsequently spotted with a prototype that wirelessly connects to an Apple Watch. “I have been wearing a continuous glucose monitor for several weeks,”he told CNBC.
“There’s a lot of hope that if someone knows what they’re eating all the time, they can instantly know what’s causing the reaction and that they can adjust well before they get diabetes,”he said.
Bloomberg’s report today also claims that Cook, COO Jeff Williams and Apple Watch Head of Hardware Eugene Kim are heavily involved in the project, with the company already investing “hundreds of millions of dollars”into the project.