Future Apple Watch Rumored to Include Glucose Monitoring and Smart Bands

[UL2RA]

Exercise regiment is extremely important in one's life, if they are able to partake in that.

Most people can partake in some form of exercise unless they're on their death bed ... or are quadriplegics.

Some conditions can be greatly helped by diet and exercise, yes. Type II is treatable.

Yes it's treatable and sometimes reversible.

Type I diabetes cannot be cured. There are not remedies for every cause that are out there was my point.

Of course it can't be cured. I was talking about people that are overweight. 85% of diseases brought on by being overweight are preventable. And most people that are overweight don't have genetics to blame, though they would tell you otherwise. For the rest that suffer from actual uncontrollable genetic misfortune, I empathize.

There are situations where medical Advancements that could be of benefit for somebody that has an ailment that could be monitored versus cured in the long run.

I 100% agree.

But if you could have the advantage of having glucose monitoring, that would be crucial in the Smart watch era.

I 100% agree again. I was never disagreeing with you here. I don't have diabetes, but I could definitely benefit from not having to go to the doctor every time I want to check my blood glucose levels. I would use this feature all the time.

 

[44267547]

Most people can partake in some form of exercise unless they're on their death bed ... or are quadriplegics

Of course it can't be cured. I was talking about people that are overweight. 85% of diseases brought on by being overweight are preventable. And most people that are overweight don't have genetics to blame, though they would tell you otherwise

I don't want to branch too far off topic, but I never like to assume somebody's condition based off numbers or statistics. To me, I could care less about what the world says for percentages or what is treatable, or what have you. Bottom line is, I think when I hear the word " Treatable diseases", there are so many generalizations, spectrums and intricacies that one does not understand, because every condition is different and no two situations will likely be the same.

But yes, exercise, diet and regiment are always a benefit, which any medical professional will always recommend if it's applicable to one's lifestyle.

Thanks for the discussion.

 

[UL2RA]

I don't want to branch too far off topic, but I never like to assume somebody's condition based off numbers or statistics. To me, I could care less about what the world says for percentages or what is treatable, or what have you. Bottom line is, I think when I hear the word " Treatable diseases", there are so many generalizations, spectrums and intricacies that one does not understand, because every condition is different and no two situations will likely be the same.

I said preventable, not treatable. Most of the things people have issues with these days are tied to being overweight or obese. This obviously doesn't take into account individual problems people have. I was referring to overweight only. I don't like generalizations either and understand everyone is different. But a lot more people have a choice with the things they have control over than they either realize or care to admit.

But yes, exercise, diet and regiment are always a benefit, which any medical professional will always recommend if it's applicable to one's lifestyle.

It's applicable to almost everyone's life. Eating healthy and maintaining an active lifestyle isn't something some people should be doing. It's what most people should be doing already. The amount of people that simply can't due to physical limitations or severe health reasons is such a small percentage compared to everyone else ... third-world countries excluded.

Thanks for the discussion.

Yes I think we are going off track. But the promise of what wearables might be able to do for the medical and health industries is very exciting.

 

[44267547]

I said preventable, not treatable. Most of the things people have issues with these days are tied to being overweight or obese. This obviously doesn't take into account individual problems people have. I was referring to overweight only. I don't like generalizations either and understand everyone is different. But a lot more people have a choice with the things they have control over than they either realize or care to admit.


It's applicable to almost everyone's life. Eating healthy and maintaining an active lifestyle isn't something some people should be doing. It's what most people should be doing already. The amount of people that simply can't due to physical limitations or severe health reasons is such a small percentage compared to everyone else ... third-world countries excluded.

Again, more generalizations that I'm not interested in. Bottom line is, if somebody can partake in physical exercise and diet, like I said, that's always recommended by any medical professional. But every situation is different taking into account of all the intricacies as I stated before. Therefore, I never assume what one can or cannot do, even if you think that's what they should be doing already.

On topic: If the Apple Watch ever reaches these potential's, or any wearable device for that matter, it would be a game changer. However, being where wearable technology is at the moment and how unstable it is , I don't forsee these types of advancements anytime soon. Overall, I think the architecture, engineering, research and development need to coincide with each other to make this all happen.

Either all in due time or time will tell are these types of health advancements. But I trust Apple with how health oriented they are these changes will bring in the future.

 

[BvizioN]

I'm not saying it's impossible that Apple might come up with it, but it's pretty damn close to impossible.

Over a decade ago the idea of flying (airplanes) would have seemed close to impossible. Today a human made object is travelling into interstellar space!! Self driving cars were sci fiction just a few decades ago. They are reality now and soon will be the norm. In the long run nothing is impossible. Everything is a question of time.

 

[MH01]

So the watch would have two heart sensors? Or you'd only get the heart sensor if you bought that band? How expensive woukd the bands become?

I just want an Apple Watch with a HR that is accurate when there is some movement on the wrist, like gym session. My AW is useless in the gym. If that means a HR in the band, so be it.

If you are worried about price, Tim Cooks apple is not for you.

 

[recoil80]

I actually think this is a great idea. Would be great for individual users / use case depending on need. No reason to put the watch through FDA approval if not needed. A smart band for glucose, sleep, AIDS, whatever.

Yeah, smart bands is the way to go.
Just sell the AW at current price, or even lower, then put advanced features into the bands.
FDA approval may take some time, they cannot wait FDA every time they want to release a new version of AW, while they can postpone the launch of a new band after it is approved.
They're going to make more money too, since people will buy more bands

 

[pat500000]

You need to look outside your broad stroked opinion and research health conditions. Not everyone can just "Eat better" or "Workout" to better their health when battling Diabetes or other ailments. But I understand your post reflects you don't understand this, which is why your "This wouldn't be needed" comment is inaccurate and is proven otherwise.

I take pride in my health, but others don't have that advantage. Something like this would be needed if it happens.

Thats why i said "not likely though."
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Educate yourself about Type 1 Diabetes, and then you can edit your post.

Reread my comment. I said not likely though.

 

[oldoneeye]

It seems like it's just me ... but I don't want my blood chemistry measured, and shipped off to someone else's computer

 

[2457248]

heart sensor in the strap....and accurate HR in the gym doing weights and I'm in

why would you need HR doing weightlifting? i'm curious, i thought HR was an important training parameter during aerobic efforts only.

 

[MH01]

why would you need HR doing weightlifting? i'm curious, i thought HR was an important training parameter during aerobic efforts only.

High intensity Weight sessions are better than aerobic excerise , as they combine fat burning with muscle gain and you get benefits post exercise.

 

[bobob]

Another rumor reboot - how many times have we heard this one?

(Rumors are becoming just like movies - no originality anymore.)

 

[2457248]

High intensity Weight sessions are better than aerobic excerise , as they combine fat burning with muscle gain and you get benefits post exercise.

thank you, personally i'm a runner, so i don't spend much time on weightlifting/exercises and muscle gain is not really my kind of thing

 

[28monkeys]

menstration cycle monitor is what men need.

 

[HiRez]

For blood sugar levels, it can't be wrong, but it may not need to be very accurate to be useful. Maybe it can't detect 326 mg/ml (or whatever it is for blood sugar), but if it can even give a range of high, medium, or low, that could be incredibly useful information for a lot of people.

 

[SHirsch999]

Thats why i said "not likely though."
[doublepost=1494919545][/doublepost]
Reread my comment. I said not likely though.

The "not likely though" makes what you wrote sound sarcastic and rude towards Type 2 diabetics and COMPLETELY ignorant of Type 1 Diabetes. Like I said, educate yourself and then edit the post.

 

[Sevendaymelee]

Blood chemistry monitoring in the watch could make it more popular than the iPhone. If we had a device that could tell us how what we ate was immediately impacting us, or if something is 'off' with our blood signifying potential illness... wearables would become a near-necessity for everybody.

Wearables are already a necessity. Without pants and underwear, you'll get arrested. If you're a woman, a shirt is also mandatory. Smartwatches on the other hand, that may or may not catch on.

 

[dmi]

Potential technologies for non-invasive monitoring https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3500977
Potential for non-diabetic usefulness
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/documentary/201702100600/
https://www.researchgate.net/public...Dysmetabolism_Is_a_Cardiovascular_Risk_Factor

 

[BlairMALL]

As a Type-1 diabetic i just can't wrap my head around what a healthy person would use glucose monitoring for. You don't really need to know about your blood glucose level, your pancreas will take care of that.
Don't get me wrong: I personally would love to have that functionality. Adding a working (!) glucose monitoring system to the apple watch would make it an instant buy for my. But please don't make "oh my god! my blood glucose level spiked after breakfest!" the new "I have celiac disease".

Are you suggesting that there are people running around falsely claiming to have celiac disease? Two of my children have celiac disease and neither one is thrilled about it. Not many of their peers believe they have a condition at all. Every time they eat, people pridefully tell them how easy it would be for them to eat this or that... at least until they witness their strong reaction to gluten contamination. Also, image our frustration when study after study comes out criticizing the gluten free fad diet, and fearing that many really helpful options will likely go away in the future. We don't really have a choice. Relax. I really doubt that people in droves will buy the version of the watch designed for glucose monitoring (if and when it is released) due to its potential cost. If they do, so be it. Just consider that when someone is concerned about their health (or data regarding their health) they just might have a valid reason.

 

[mdellepi]

Let's see how it works out, but I surely like the idea of optional additional functionalities embedded in the watch bands, possibly guaranteeing their compatibility with all Watch series.
[doublepost=1494936156][/doublepost]

heart sensor in the strap....and accurate HR in the gym doing weights and I'm in

After a lot of accuracy problems (particularly during high intensity training), I've found out that the Twelve South ActionSleeve is a pretty good solution:

https://www.twelvesouth.com/product/actionsleeve

 

[JeffyTheQuik]

Stop! Before commenting on diabetes, you need to educate yourself on the differences between Type 1 (non-preventable auto-immune disease) vs Type 2 (typically adult onset due to unhealthy lifestyle - genetic - more common and sometimes preventable).

Glucose monitoring on an Apple Watch would be amazing. So much better than pricking a finger every couple hours of the day. Plus, many pumps could communicate directly with the app on the watch to provide a fully automated pancreas system for insulin. It's already something that's available in other forms, but would be great to have in the Watch as an option.

Yeah... I love the whole, "Did you eat too much sugar as a kid?" line when I tell them I have T1D, and got it 2 weeks before my 3rd birthday.

For non diabetics, I think it would be amazing to see the effect the food has on their blood sugar. When using the Dexcom G5, I see that eating a bowl of Cheerios sends my blood sugar much higher than a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, which is why I eat Steel Cut Oats for breakfast... Sends it to 135 from 85, and has a slow burn off until lunch. I can throttle my blood sugar with insulin to get it where I want it, and it still has the same burn rate.

I'm looking forward to the G6, which I hear has 1 calibration for 1-2 weeks.

 

[bbeagle]

High intensity Weight sessions are better than aerobic excerise , as they combine fat burning with muscle gain and you get benefits post exercise.

You cannot gain muscles and burn fat at the same time. Gaining muscle requires an increase in calories. Losing fat requires a decrease in calories.

 

[69650]

Speaking as a diabetic myself this would be revolutionary if they could do it.

 

[TheDreaded26]

There is no current non-invasive way to measure blood glucose in the medical industry - if there was, every diabetic would already be using it and we'd be using it in hospitals. We just aren't. Most of the devices floating about now are hit & miss, not very accurate and require calibrating with an actual blood sample.

I'm not saying it's impossible that Apple might come up with it, but it's pretty damn close to impossible. Plus, I doubt Apple is going to attempt to go down the road of making the Apple Watch a 'medical grade' device - slightly more hoops to jump over there (FDA in the US for a start)... for good reason. If it's not accurate, it will cost lives.

People who think blood glucose can be detected the same way the pulse is detected on the watch (using differential absorption of light), clearly have no understanding of physiology, physics or biochemistry... current monitors make a lot of assumptions.

And for non-diabetics, what the hell are you going to do with the data - the signal to noise ratio shrinks even further, yet we think we're all 'well informed'. The Dunning-Kruger effect on display.

As a phlebotomist I completely agree. You can't measure your glucose level without a blood sample.

 

[BruceEBonus]

It's a tough choice then. Do I spend £350 on a Apple Watch or £10 on a dedicated Blood Monitor kit? Ah stuff it. Let laziness win the day. Again. Shut up and take my money .... Again.