Apple Has 'Secret' Team of Biomedical Engineers Developing Sensors for Non-Invasively Monitoring Blood Glucose

[rp2011]

No, we won't. Breakthroughs take much longer than one or two years. And on top of that, non of the current Apple Watches will support the new technology, if it ever comes to market. We're in the era of wearable computing without useful body sensors. The industry is selling a sci-fi dream, like a personal robot butler serving drinks.

The robot butler in Halt and Catch Fire.​

The article states they've been working on it for five years now. And then it doesn't offer a release date.
I mean I don't know anything. None of us do. You included but cool you're making such certain making such proclamations.

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

how hard was it to get your class 3 from the FAA? I too an type, since the age of 2, so 43 years here myself, with a pump and CGM.

I'm not sure if I replied back to you, but what I did was:
1. See these two sites:
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/media/guide.pdf (Search for Insulin, and it's around page 200-300... it gets updated quite regularly)
https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/pharm/insulin/
Also search in there for any other things you may have. I had to do the protocol for Sleep Apnea too.

2. Gather all of the info needed. The treadmill test was a lot of fun... "You only need one more beat per minute" (and I'm thinking, "how do I get my heart to beat faster?")

3. Fill out the form 8500-8:
(https://medxpress.faa.gov/medxpress/) and Print it out. Make sure you have the numbers that you need to give to the AME.

4. PRINT OUT THE 8500-8, and tell the AME that you want a CONSULTATION APPOINTMENT. Bring all of your paperwork from steps 1-3 in. ONCE THE AME GOES INTO MedXPress, the clock starts, and you have to have all of the info into the FAA (they have to have it) within 90 days.

5. If all of the info looks good, have the AME start the exam (this can be the same day/visit, or a follow-up), and wait.... and wait... You will get a deferral letter that says that the application is going to Oklahoma City. If you are curious, give them a call, and have your numbers (on the letter that comes back from the FAA) to give them. Just remember they are looking in a computer database, and aren't the ones doing the looking at the 1/2" stack of paper you gave them. All they can give you is status, so it helps to be friendly with them.

6. If you still fail, they will tell you why, and give you a chance to provide more information.

Believe it or not, the FAA wants to help. Everyone I have spoken with at the FAA, be it where I work (clues are available on where I live), or with getting the Class 3. For 2015, they rejected 200 out of some 150,000 requests they had outright. People that have given up aren't in that 200. I know I'm wrong on the actual numbers, but the percentage was incredibly small.
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This is not true! There are existing non-invasive devices in Europe. MIT and UCSD are also independently developed monitoring devices.

Really? What brand, so I can pick one up when I go over there next?

 

[Gudi]

The article states they've been working on it for five years now. And then it doesn't offer a release date. I mean I don't know anything. None of us do.

You need years to develop a well-understood technology and adapt it for a phone, but you need decades if you have to do all the basic research first. Five years doesn't necessary mean they've made progress on a road which may not even exist.

 

[Soccertess]

yeah lets have 12 sensors that are still in major need of adjustment rather than just 4.

Well, 4 sensors were so awesome, I spoke with my wallet and didn't buy it. Judging that wearables didn't take off, and weren't as revolutionary as Tim claimed, I would say the general public agreed with me.

Apple might might be the best selling smart watch when you remove lower end fitbits out of the equation, but it's a small market. It's like having the best smelling poo, in the end, it's still just poo

 

[extrachrispy]

You mis-spelled hypochondriacs.

No, actually. The way to avoid adult-onset diabetes is to eat like you already have it.

For people raised on the ill-conceived FDA food pyramid, such technology could be eye-opening (and sight-preserving).
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Dexcom has a very good app for the iPhone and Apple Watch. I have been using it for several months now and I love it. You can add glucose reading complications on the watch faces. Being a type 1 myself, current glucose readings are just as important as the current time.

I just went to their website and I'm in tears. Someone I care about very much suffers from non-diabetic hypoglycemia. When sugar starts crashing, there's only minutes to eat something before the confusion sets in, and if it crashes far enough, blackout. Something like this, with an alert when the sugar level falls below 70, would make SUCH a difference.

 

[extrachrispy]

There absolutely is. I'm the 2012 Colorado State Champion for Men's Physique (masters) and ranked 7th nationally (2014) men 35-40.

I bought glucose monitor just to record how different foods (and artificial sweeteners, and Diet Coke) affected my blood sugar levels.

If I could monitor that with my watch instead of pricking my finger if would be amazing.

If the general population could use it to be more aware and eat more healthy - it would be priceless.

Yup. I'm an endurance cyclist (my profile pic is from last year's Hotter'n'Hell Hundred, which I completed in well under five hours); however, there's a family history of heart disease, and a failed stress test and a visit to the cath lab five years ago showed 30% blockage in the left anterior descending coronary artery. That wasn't bad enough to stent, but it was a hell of a wake-up call.

I started (mostly) following Dr. Peter Attia's advice (eatingacademy.com), and my lipid profile (and NMR LipoProfile) has greatly improved. HDL around 80, LDL around 120, triglycerides around 80, consistently, and LDL-P just over a thousand.

 

[bflowers]

You present that as if the T1D numbers are huge. They are not. In the USA, 90-95% of all diabetes cases are T2D, and a lot of that is from eating too much. The remaining 5 to 10% of T1D cases comprise a lot of children who wouldn't be wearing an expensive Apple Watch anyway.

So my previous post stands:

Add a caloric intake sensor that alerts the wearer: "It's time to stop eating."

That's good advice even if Diabetes has nothing to do with it.

T1D kids grow up and I've seen plenty of teens already sporting Apple Watches.

Aside from that, an Apple watch and a paired low end iPhone are actually cheaper both to purchase and to maintain (contract/supplies) than a corresponding CGM like Dexcom. Our startup cost for the receiver (required purchase even if pairing to an iOS device) and 2 transmitters (6 months) and 12 sensors (3 month supply) was about $2,000.

According to JDRF.org:

• 1.25M Americans are living with T1D including about 200,000 youth (less than 20 years old) and over a million adults (20 years old and older)1,2,5
• 40,000 people are diagnosed each year in the U.S.1, 2
• T1D is associated with an estimated loss of life-expectancy of up to 13 years7

That last line seems huge to me.

If you need help remembering to stop shoving food in your face, write a watch app to access the accelerometer and alert you when you move your arm to your mouth too many times. No special sensor needed for that.