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Apple Watch Series 8 Suppliers Developing Blood Glucose Monitoring Components

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Apple's suppliers are currently developing components for next-generation sensors in the Apple Watch Series 8 that will allow users to measure their blood glucose level, according to a new report.

applewatchs6bloodoxygen2.jpg

According to a paywalled report from DigiTimes, Apple and its suppliers have begun working on short-wavelength infrared sensors, a commonly used sensor type for health devices. The new sensors, likely to be fitted on the back of the Apple Watch, will enable the device to measure the amount of sugar in a wearer's blood.

The Apple Watch, over the years, has gained more comprehensive health features, most recently with the Apple Watch Series 6 that added a blood oxygen sensor. Compared to the first Apple Watch capable of measuring heart rate and primary daily activity, the Apple Watch is now capable of taking an ECG, detecting falls, high and low heart rates, blood oxygen levels, and more.

Continuing to build the Apple Watch as an all-encompassing health tool, Apple has already been rumored to be eying blood glucose measuring functionality for the next-generation Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 8. According to The Wall Street Journal, blood glucose level is one of multiple health metrics Apple is looking to add to the Apple Watch.

According to The Wall Street Journal, however, Apple is facing challenges in incorporating blood glucose capabilities into the Apple Watch. Current methods of measuring blood glucose levels include taking a sample of blood and using a medical-grade device. With the Apple Watch, Apple would be looking to take a typically invasive medical practice and make it non-invasive.

In iOS 15, the Health app added blood glucose highlights as a health metric. iOS 15‌ users have to use external hardware to provide the data, but that would change if Apple adds a glucose monitoring feature to a future Apple Watch model.

What Apple has in store for the next Apple Watch remains unclear, but the radical redesign that was rumored for the Series 7 but never materialized could make an appearance. The Apple Watch Series 7, announced last month, includes a larger display, faster charging, and a slightly larger battery. Apple is expected to announce the Apple Watch Series 8 in the 2022 fall season.

Article Link: Apple Watch Series 8 Suppliers Developing Blood Glucose Monitoring Components
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2021/10/25/apple-watch-series-8-blood-glucose-sensors/
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T'hain Esh Kelch said:
Blood glucose measuring would mean a whooooole lot of sales. It is likely the holy grail of smart watches at this point.
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Yep, especially if they get FDA approval, then it *might* get covered by insurers vs blood glucose monitoring systems that require very expensive strips/sensors that need to be refreshed monthly. The cost of a single Apple watch would be significantly less expensive.
 
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frozenstein said:
maybe they can ask Theranos for some help on the new tech ;) but I thought we’re still stuck using blood samples for blood glucose readings
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I thought I read a few years back that there was a glucose reading instrument that was in use in some hospitals, that didn't require a finger stick, but was prohibitively expensive for individual use.
 
RedRaven571 said:
Yep, especially if they get FDA approval, then it *might* get covered by insurers vs blood glucose monitoring systems that require very expensive strips/sensors that need to be refreshed monthly. The cost of a single Apple watch would be significantly less expensive.
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I’d rather hope the feature is ”not intended for medical use”. As it can take ridiculously long for medical features to get approved in some countries.

Until now, ECG is still not available in many countries around the world.
 
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Struggling to work out how a non-invasive BGM would work… even the current non-invasive Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems aren’t strictly non-invasive (Freestyle Libre, Dexcom) and if there’s something out there that isn’t, I’d imagine it really would be cost prohibitive. I know what my Libre costs, and it’s not exactly cheap.

Saying that, I’d take a fruit Watch with CGM if it turned up!
 
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RedRaven571 said:
I thought I read a few years back that there was a glucose reading instrument that was in use in some hospitals, that didn't require a finger stick, but was prohibitively expensive for individual use.
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There was one, by a dead company called Echo Technologies, but it was a bulky transmitter placed on specially-prepped skin. Basically for monitoring of bedbound patients, such as in an ICU. Not the solution for the masses. Never really got adopted in hospitals either, company flailed, big proxy fight, eventually got delisted from the NASDAQ. My suggestion is to hold your Apple stock if you have any.
 
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another hour and another rumour on the next release of an apple product.

maybe I shouldn't frequent rumour sites ?
 
mjcharlton71 said:
Struggling to work out how a non-invasive BGM would work… even the current non-invasive Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems aren’t strictly non-invasive (Freestyle Libre, Dexcom) and if there’s something out there that isn’t, I’d imagine it really would be cost prohibitive. I know what my Libre costs, and it’s not exactly cheap.

Saying that, I’d take a fruit Watch with CGM if it turned up!
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I used to work for an instrumentation company that worked out how much particular ‘stuff’ is in something, by shining light on or through it. Specifically a bunch of discrete infrared wavelengths. A kind of spectrum analyser at a few carefully chosen wavelengths. The instruments measured the amount of nicotine in tobacco, moisture in biscuits, that kind of thing. I’m sure those instruments could measure sugar compounds, but it would be an amazing feat of engineering to put it into something the size of a watch. I’m guessing advanced low power solid-state infrared lasers. We used fairly powerful light bulbs and spinning arrays of infrared filters to get the data we needed, and you certainly couldn’t wear that on your arm!
 
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