While the Apple Watch can do most things health related – heart readings, step counting, etc – it can’t monitor your blood glucose level. But diabetics may be in luck as the company have made great strides towards making that possible.
There’s been talk of the Apple Watch being able to monitor blood glucose for years, now a report claims the company recently hit “major milestones” in making that dream a reality.
With “hundreds of engineers” working on non-invasive blood glucose monitoring for the wearable, Apple now have functioning proof of the concept, which is a massive step towards bringing it to their watch.
They are said to be using tech called “silicon photonics”, combined with “optical absorption spectroscopy” measurements.
Apparently it works via “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.”
Apple are said to be working with TSMC, who make the A-series chips for the iPhone, to create custom silicon for the photonic chips.
At present, Apple’s “proof of concept” device is about the size of an iPhone and is worn on the arm. A previous version was so large it needed a laptop to function. Apple’s main aim now is to make it small enough to fit inside a watch.
This will take time, with estimates pegging it for 2025, or 2026. Still, it is already a remarkable leap in health technology.
