Breakthrough Sensor Could Finally Bring Blood Glucose Monitoring To Apple Watch
Wearable makers like Apple, Samsung, Garmin, and Google have long chased what might be the holy grail of health tech: non-invasive glucose monitoring. Recent developments suggest that Apple could be closer than ever to turning its decade-long ambition into a reality for the Apple Watch.
Blood sugar tracking has been long expected to be the next big thing in wearable health metrics, yet it's remained elusive due to the challenge of measuring glucose without needles. However, change is happening. Current breakthroughs involve two parallel paths: deep integration with existing medical hardware and revolutionary sensor research deep within Apple's skunkworks.
Beginning with the former, Dexcom's G7 continuous glucose monitor can bypass the iPhone entirely, beaming data directly to the Apple Watch. This allows users to monitor their levels during activities like swimming or hiking where a phone isn't practical, representing a transition for the Watch from a secondary display to a primary medical hub.
Now, whereas the the previous stride still requires an external CGM to capture data, Apple’s Exploratory Design Group is reportedly making progress in non-invasive sensing. Using silicon photonics and optical absorption spectroscopy, the tech aims to shine lasers through the skin to analyze interstitial fluid. Indeed, a consumer-ready version is still years away, but the sensor package is now part of a proof-of-concept device. Currently the size of an iPhone and worn on the bicep, the goal is to miniaturize this system into something more compact like, say, an Apple Watch.
With over 10% of the world's population living with diabetes, a non-invasive tracker would really transform the Apple Watch as a vital preventative health tool. It would allow users to see how specific meals and stress levels affect their metabolic health in real-time, potentially flagging pre-diabetic conditions before they require medical intervention. No doubt, hurdles such as battery life and medical-grade accuracy remain significant, but for millions of people tired of finger-pricks, the wait for a truly needle-free future appears to be ending sooner than later.
