Apple has hit “major milestones” in a moonshot-style project underway that dates back to the Steve Jobs era: noninvasive and continuous blood glucose monitoring.
Mark Gurman for Bloomberg News:
The goal of this secret endeavor — dubbed E5 — is to measure how much glucose is in someone’s body without needing to prick the skin for blood. After hitting major milestones recently, the company now believes it could eventually bring glucose monitoring to market, according to people familiar with the effort.
If perfected, such a breakthrough would be a boon to diabetics and help cement Apple as a powerhouse in health care. Adding the monitoring system to the Apple Watch, the ultimate goal, would also make that device an essential item for millions of diabetics around the world.
There’s still years of work ahead, but the move could upend a multibillion-dollar industry. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and they typically rely on a device that pokes the skin for a blood sample… Apple is taking a different approach, using a 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 below the skin where there is interstitial fluid — substances that leak out of capillaries — that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is then reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the concentration of glucose. An algorithm then determines a person’s blood glucose level.
Hundreds of engineers are working on the project as part of Apple’s Exploratory Design Group, or XDG, a previously unreported effort akin to Google X. It’s one of the most covert initiatives at the famously secretive Apple…
Apple’s system — more than 12 years in the making — is now considered to be at a proof-of-concept stage, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the project is confidential. The company believes the technology is viable but needs to be shrunk down to a more practical size.
MacDailyNews Take: Initially envisioned by the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, Apple engineers were tasked with developing sensors that can non-invasively and continuously monitor blood sugar levels to better treat diabetes. Before his death, Jobs envisioned wearable devices, like smartwatches, being used to monitor important vitals, such as oxygen levels, heart rate and blood glucose, as Christina Farr reported for CNBC back in 2017.
If achieved, Apple Watch would become the essential device for hundreds of millions of people with diabetes. Non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring would indeed be the holy grail for treating diabetes. – MacDailyNews, April 12, 2017
Back in 2013, EDN (originally Electrical Design News) covered non-invasive blood glucose monitoring using near-infrared spectroscopy here.
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Health care at Apple is a noble initiative. Doesn’t surprise me that Steve Jobs had the vision.