Apple Watch Blood Glucose Team Gains New Lead

[MacRumors]

Apple has done some internal shuffling and appointed Tim Millet, vice president of platform architecture, to lead the team that is working on blood glucose monitoring functionality for the Apple Watch.

According to Bloomberg, Millet is now in charge of the Exploratory Design Group or XDG that has been developing noninvasive blood glucose testing for years. The team was previously led by longtime Apple employee Bill Athas, but he unexpectedly died in late 2022.

Millet has been at Apple for almost 20 years, and he reports to Apple chip chief Johny Srouji. Bloomberg says that Millet has played a key role in the transition to Apple silicon, leading several teams that work on the processors.

Apple's work on blood glucose monitoring is being overseen by the semiconductor team rather than a health team because it requires advanced sensors and chips. Apple is exploring a noninvasive monitoring technique that involves shooting a laser underneath the skin to determine the concentration of glucose in the blood.

Noninvasive blood glucose monitoring would allow diabetics to test their blood glucose levels without needing to prick the skin, plus it would likely be able to detect pre-diabetes and other blood glucose issues.

Earlier this year, Apple reached a milestone "proof-of-concept" stage with hardware that is about the size of an iPhone, but Apple needs to condense the components into a size that can fit into an Apple Watch.

A blood glucose monitoring function for the Apple Watch remains several years away.

Article Link: Apple Watch Blood Glucose Team Gains New Lead

 

[macsplusmacs]

If they pull this off, 99% of people do not understand what a game changer this is going to be and is prob. why Tim insists apple will be known as a health company by the end of his tenure.

 

[iZac]

I wish Apple hurried up with this thing, I’ve wanted to get one for my type 2 diabetic mum from the moment I heard about it years ago!

 

[asdex]

This plus the ability to measure blood pressure would be real innovations, not that silly double tap function already available in Accessibility.

 

[appleguy123]

IMO, this is the single most important thing Apple is working on. Even for non-diabetics it has huge health benefits to know how foods and activities affect our bodies. I do hope that non-invasive lactate monitoring during workouts can quickly follow from this technology as well.

 

[ThaRuler]

Now this is one reason I would finally buy my first Apple Watch

 

[compwiz1202]

A blood glucose monitoring function for the Apple Watch remains several years away.

Five years away...forevahhhhhh.......

 

[BobHinden]

I would buy a new Apple Watch with this feature as soon as it was available.

 

[jz0309]

while the technology will become available in the next 4 or os years, I highly doubt Apple will make it available in the standard watch. it ill require full FDA approval as diabetics type 1 depend on correct data for insulin intake.
There is a market for CGM today, intrusive though with eg the Dexcom that in by itself is a billion dollar business. Apple will likely be offering a "special edition" at significantly higher cost.

 

[DominikHoffmann]

I visited Roche Diagnostics in 1999 and spoke to the person in charge of developing non-invasive blood glucose measurements there. They had just given up the project after years of research. If Apple can pull this off, it will be a huge deal. Currently, there probably is no other company with budgets as big as theirs, so I find it possible, even if it is really hard.

There are a lot of people with Diabetes out there. Since the pharma companies gained immunity from liability for vaccine side effects, childhood diabetes has shot through the roof.

 

[Mac_The_Ripper]

Now this is something Apple is working on that my hat is off to them for their effort.

 

[clg82]

while the technology will become available in the next 4 or os years, I highly doubt Apple will make it available in the standard watch. it ill require full FDA approval as diabetics type 1 depend on correct data for insulin intake.
There is a market for CGM today, intrusive though with eg the Dexcom that in by itself is a billion dollar business. Apple will likely be offering a "special edition" at significantly higher cost.

I would pay the premium cost, if it's as efficient as my Dexcom G7 at telling me my Bg it would seriously be a game changer.

 

[msackey]

Maybe this is pedantic but it was this year that I learnt there is a difference between blood glucose monitoring and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM). I work in the health field. CGM is an estimate of your blood glucose because it isn't actually accessing your blood, but rather the glucose of the fluid that is between cells. Here's how NIH describes it: "CGM sensors estimate the glucose level in the fluid between your cells, which is very similar to the glucose level in your blood" (https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-in...naging-diabetes/continuous-glucose-monitoring ).

In other words then, measuring the glucose of the fluid between cell spaces is a surrogate for blood glucose.

My question then really is whether the development of glucose monitoring in Apple Watches would be measuring the actual blood glucose, or whether it is measuring a proxy such as fluid glucose.

 

[lazyrighteye]

If they pull this off, 99% of people do not understand what a game changer this is going to be and is prob. why Tim insists apple will be known as a health company by the end of his tenure.

Two stats for you:
• According to the WHO, about 422 million people worldwide have diabetes.
• Diabetics are twice as likely to have heart disease or stroke than those without.

If Apple can pull off legit glucose monitoring, they won't be able to manufacture enough Watches to meet demand. They'll also need to create a new phrase to replace "game changer."

 

[steve09090]

Five years away...forevahhhhhh.......

Like many of their products, they need technology to catch up. There is only so many things they are able to achieve. By even getting a working prototype, they are probably leaps and bounds ahead of anyone else at this stage.

 

[Lakersfan74]

They will still put a warning advising you to test yourself with a tester, and not rely on the watch

 

[Mr. Dee]

If this happens, I am buying for several family members including myself. I hope its delivered with the Apple Watch X, but I am sensing it might not be.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Guess the last person didn’t have their heart in it anymore. They likely felt the team needed some new blood.

 

[JM2]

As a Type 1 this would be great. I've got FreeStyle Libre 3 CGM that syncs with my iPhone and its made my life so much easier. No more guessing what direction my BG is going, no finger sticks, or carrying around a tester, buying stripes, etc.

 

[jz0309]

I would pay the premium cost, if it's as efficient as my Dexcom G7 at telling me my Bg it would seriously be a game changer.

I would expect that, anything is better than pricing your finger or put something else into your body ... it would/will indeed be a game changer, I am not 100% convinced that Apple will offer a "true" medical product because of the FDA scrutiny and time it takes.

 

[mcfrazieriv]

Considering how inaccurate Apple Watch VO2 max calculations are, I have zero hope in this.

 

[5H3PH3RD]

Guess the last person didn’t have their heart in it anymore. They likely felt the team needed some new blood.

They died.

 

[wallinbl]

There are a lot of people with Diabetes out there.

It's not just diabetes. Continuous blood glucose monitoring is way better than heart rate monitoring for physical training.

And, you shouldn't need FDA clearance for that, but I understand that allowing it might well tempt diabetics into using it when they shouldn't rely on it.

 

[msackey]

while the technology will become available in the next 4 or os years, I highly doubt Apple will make it available in the standard watch. it ill require full FDA approval as diabetics type 1 depend on correct data for insulin intake.
There is a market for CGM today, intrusive though with eg the Dexcom that in by itself is a billion dollar business. Apple will likely be offering a "special edition" at significantly higher cost.

I'll have to more carefully think through FDA device regulations but my first thought is that if the device is not intended to be used as a diagnostic device without the use of an approved separate device that would confirm the diagnosis, I wonder if the Watch (with glucose monitoring) could be considered a general wellness device which would then not need other FDA device classification control measures.

Also, unless this Watch is able to monitor glucose without an additional separate sensor that one has to wear elsewhere on your body, I too think this would be a separate product. Current CGM devices require you to wear a sensor, often on your upper arm and the sensor has to be changed after several days. With this kind of device, I do not see non-diabetics using a CGM regularly because having to wear a separate and somewhat bulky sensor that can be prone to falling off if you don't clean the skin and attach correctly is not a typical person's idea of convenient.

 

[DJAdequate]

As a type 1 diabetic who is the father of a type 1 diabetic — about half the reason I buy Apple Watches is to fund this. Even if it’s a long shot it would just be so nice.