According to internal sources, Apple has made significant progress in the development of a blood glucose sensor for diabetes management. The company already has a “proof of concept” that indicates the product will reach the market sometime in the future. However, patience is required as it is still in the developmental stage.
Measuring blood glucose is a major challenge in medicine, and many companies have tried to develop a sensor without success, including Google. Given that hundreds of millions of people suffer from diabetes worldwide, a non-invasive glucose sensor that can detect pre-diabetes would be in high demand. According to Bloomberg, Apple has been working on developing the glucose sensor for the past 12 years and has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in it.
This project was inspired by Steve Jobs, who was concerned about his health prior to his death and decided to purchase the company RareLight, which was working on glucose monitoring. Jobs wanted to create devices that could measure health from the mobile or body, which inspired Apple’s health apps and the Apple Watch.
According to sources, hundreds of people are working on the glucose sensor in secret at Apple’s Exploratory Design Group (XDG). This project is one of Apple’s most ambitious, along with the autonomous car overseen by the Special Projects Group and the mixed reality glasses developed by the Technology Development Group.
Apple’s blood glucose sensor uses a chip with silicon photonics technology and a measurement process called optical absorption spectroscopy. The system emits specific wavelengths of light in an area under the skin where there is interstitial fluid that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the glucose concentration. With this data, an artificially intelligent algorithm calculates the blood glucose level.
Apple already has a proof of concept that works in a large device that must sit on a table, but its goal is to fit all the hardware, including the glucose sensor, into a wallet-sized device that can be attached to the arm with a strap. Apple’s ultimate goal is to incorporate the glucose sensor into the Apple Watch. While there is still a long way to go, this news indicates that Apple believes it is on the path to making this vision a reality.