Apple's iWatch has been rumored to include a glucose monitoring feature, but how that feature would be implemented is still unknown. One report from earlier this month indicated that a "Healthbook" app under development for iOS 8 will be able "to read glucose-related data," while another report has warned not to expect glucose sensing built directly into the initial iWatch. The two reports are not necessarily conflicting given the possibility of Healthbook interfacing somehow with third-party glucose-monitoring devices, but a new report from Network World argues that the technology is indeed too early in its development to be incorporated into a mainstream consumer device such as the iWatch.
Heisler points to C8 Mediasensors and its non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) device, the HG1-c, as an example of how this technology is still in its infancy. It's a relevant example as Apple has hired several research scientists and engineers from the now defunct company and is presumably using their knowledge to explore bringing CGM to the iWatch.
The HG1-c device relied on Raman spectroscopy to indirectly measure a person's blood glucose level. This technique shines light through the skin in order to excite blood glucose molecules and cause them to vibrate. An optic sensor then analyzes the amount of light reflected off these vibrating molecules and returns a reading that is used to calculate an approximate glucose level.
Apple likely can overcome many of these limitations, but it will take time to transform the technology to the point where it is reliable enough to be used as a diagnostic or monitoring device. Once Apple improves the technology, it will need to receive FDA approval, which is a painstaking process with extensive clinical trials and documentation.
If Apple goes down this route, it could take up to 18 months just to receive approval necessary to sell the device. Given this lengthy approval process and the fact that evidence of Apple earnestly assembling its iWatch biometric research team only started surfacing around early 2013, Heisler believes "the notion that this feature will appear in the first iteration of the device is highly improbable."
Instead of measuring glucose levels, the iWatch may allow users to monitor glucose levels by importing them from a glucose monitoring device or by manually entering them into the accompanying Healthbook app for iOS. Apple is rumored to be working on the health and fitness app, which uses a card-based interface to track vital health statistics such as heart rate, weight and step count.
Article Link: Glucose Sensing Likely Too Challenging to Include in First-Generation iWatch
