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iWatch May Use Optical Sensors to Measure Heart Rate and Oxygen Levels

When/if blood glucose monitoring is added, count me in. That would be, quite literally, revolutionary.

I was disappointed the infrared BG meters that stood the 5+ years of traditional BG meters were shelved as pharm companies did not want to lose billions in test strip sales. I was involved in one of the control groups years ago, and the results were phenomenal.
 
bedifferent said:
When/if blood glucose monitoring is added, count me in. That would be, quite literally, revolutionary.



I was disappointed the infrared BG meters that stood the 5+ years of traditional BG meters were shelved as pharm companies did not want to lose billions in test strip sales. I was involved in one of the control groups years ago, and the results were phenomenal.
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Oh come on. If you were involved you know that's not why IBG meters have not yet hit the market.

The first company certified to manufacture ran out of money and went bankrupt before they could bring their very complex and expensive product to market. They were purchased by another German company who promise a late 2014 product for select markets - but very expensive, so still not ready for the mass market.

These technologies take time - especially when we have a tried and true method in place today.

Get it wrong, patients die, companies get sued and destroyed.

It's not a conspiracy...
 
I hope this thing has features that are actually useful, and I mean for regular people, not just people with really bad medical problems and Samus Aran. Who cares about blood oxygen levels?! Sure, a few people unfortunately have to monitor that, but this is a watch marketed for everyone and is going to need more than just medical gauges to sell.

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Customizable clock face or no deal.
 
thewitt said:
Oh come on. If you were involved you know that's not why IBG meters have not yet hit the market.

The first company certified to manufacture ran out of money and went bankrupt before they could bring their very complex and expensive product to market. They were purchased by another German company who promise a late 2014 product for select markets - but very expensive, so still not ready for the mass market.

These technologies take time - especially when we have a tried and true method in place today.

Get it wrong, patients die, companies get sued and destroyed.

It's not a conspiracy...
Click to expand...

bedifferent said:
When/if blood glucose monitoring is added, count me in. That would be, quite literally, revolutionary.

I was disappointed the infrared BG meters that stood the 5+ years of traditional BG meters were shelved as pharm companies did not want to lose billions in test strip sales. I was involved in one of the control groups years ago, and the results were phenomenal.
Click to expand...

To add to thewitt's reply:

To put it simply, noninvasive meters have not stood up against traditional finger stick meters as reliable replacements. The products have been largely expensive failures. Many require ongoing extensive calibration to each individual patient, were unreliable with minimizing false negatives/false positives, and some (e.g., GlucoWatch) still required frequent finger sticks for calibrating. Which would be fine if they were at least consistently accurate (they aren't, at least not enough to meet FDA approval - FDA compares them mostly to finger stick testing).

Furthermore, if a company developed a device that measured at least as accurately a finger sticks meters, was non-invasive, and without side effects, and got approval from the FDA, they would stand to gain billions more in revenue than what they were getting from test strip sales. There are at least dozens of companies all making basically the same test strips, don't you think that they would have a vested interest in making much of their competition utterly obsolete overnight?

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OGDK said:
I hope this thing has features that are actually useful, and I mean for regular people, not just people with really bad medical problems and Samus Aran. Who cares about blood oxygen levels?!
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Considering that COPD is the third leading cause of death in the US, I would say a lot of people would. However, I would still agree with your point since oximeters are cheap and widely available.

Also, you know...speculation. I mean, we really can't think of much else a watch could be useful for at this point so we drool over mock-ups as if they were the real deal.
 
Parasprite said:
I mean, we really can't think of much else a watch could be useful for at this point so we drool over mock-ups as if they were the real deal.
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One benefit I can envision for this, is when I'm walking somewhere and listening to Pandora and I start to like a song that I haven't heard before and I want to know the name of it or who sings it, It would be nice to be able to find out by glancing at my wrist instead of having to pull my phone out of my pocket, turn it on, look at the info on the screen, then turn it back off and put it back in my pocket. That starts to get old at about the third unknown song...
 
Soccertess said:
haha, let's hope Apple has learned something.

I wonder how big the 3rd party market will be for accessories on this...

If the battery is in the strap, then you would think you will be limited to only apple straps. I bet this will be the situation when it comes out, samsung will copy, and the iwatch 2.0 will have interchangeable straps/cases.
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Custom Sleeves... "iwatch... Make it yours"
 
Hm, my Basis does most of this -- it lasts about 4 days between charges :)

I quite like it, actually. Looking forward to what Apple comes up with.
 
I haven't ready through the whole set of posts, but any of the suggestions mentioned regarding blood oxygen levels and heart rate are great, however, to be a must buy, it has to have gps tracking and pace feedback for running.
If not I will stick with my Garmin forerunner.
 
SusanK said:
I won't wear it. No bling:) I have a boring doctor to check my vital signs. Something disturbing about Apple going into the sickroom supply business :(
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Exactly, the more the 'rumours and analysts' say the more over advanced it seems in medical monitoring. I would predict the majority of these rumours are bogus BS to be honest, when was the last time anyone went to a normal gym and saw a running machine where you strapped a breathing apparatus to your head? So your breathing and oxygen can be monitored, like the ones for professional athletes or astronauts or in specialist hospitals?

Most people know their body's and know when something is wrong, and then go and see a doctor. A watch device just needs to monitor your pulse and then log your geographic location for running and have pedometers etc and maybe sleeping monitors. Basically everything we already have.

How would Apple display blood oxygen levels in real layman's terms to Joe public anyway?

Cost is also going to be a factor, the Nike Fuel Band is great, I often thought about one but have never taken the plunge, but that's priced very well, you know it's a fun decent fitness device.
If Apple add full fitness monitoring and smart watch features then knowing Apple it's going to cost a fortune, are they going to compete with Tag Heuer or high end Tissot's?
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Everyone wearing the same watch and using the same phone. What was the point of that Apple 1984 commercial again? I can't remember. :confused: :D
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Yes, good point indeed! Only I suppose if Apple would have been in IBM's position in 1984, they might have been less enthusiastic about "overthrowing the establishment" per se :p
 
I'm excited about a device that can track my health - I have a inkling it may become a mainstream market in a few years; more and more people are starting to take an interest in personal nutrition and exercise.
I've always had the impression one of Apple's goals is to better humanity: see easy access to computers and the internet and fostering creativity with the Mac.

A well-made device such as this could have the upshot of turning society as a whole into healthy individuals.
 
The funny thing is you know all the people mocking this or making fun will be wearing one.
 
barkingsheltie said:
I currently own the Basis watch, http://www.mybasis.com

This watch comes with HR monitor, skin temp & perspiration, as well as the basic pedometer/moving calculations.

They recently updated the firmware & software to track more sleep detail - including deep, REM, etc.

Sample sleep data attached.

My experience so far

Pain to sync - Ive owned fitbit devices before and they are not finicky like basis - though they track less data too.

Battery performance is low.

Ugly watch.

Dim, very dim display.

Software - and here is where Apple could do some disrupting - ok, lots of data, but what does it all mean? They comment on their forum, in response to questions, if the sleep score is high, indicating *good* sleep, so why do I feel like crap? Their answer is basically there are lots of *factors* at play, which affects how the person feels. LOL. We all know that intrinsically, so if the data doesn't correspond, or reveal those parameters that might play a role in the final result, what's the friggin point????

What do the measurements really tell us, & what areas do we change to improve, etc?

There really is nothing along these lines in terms of the software analysis (for any system). IMO, a typical new user will become disinterested in the novelly aspect if their isn't any real value. One or two generations, and sales might suffer if this is one of the principal selling features.

I thought that with the additional info, the calorie tracking would be more accurate, but Im not sure this data is incorporated into the calculations - some forum threads indicate it is not. That would agree with my experience, as the fitbit is within 1% (or less) of the Basis results - indicating they are using traditional formulas, age, weight, steps....


Im very interested in the bio-data, obviously. But without some sensible software that is actually helpful, not sure how important this will be in the long run.

The other features such as facilitating less need to have a phone in hand, e.g., weather, texts, etc, would be as important - if not more - in the event Apple can't come through with intelligent collection & analysis of the bio-data.

One exception - for diabetics, clearly having glucose monitoring is a big, big result. It would take a company the size of Apple to get the proper certifications, etc.
Click to expand...


What about Blood Pressure readings.
 
All of this sounds very cool, but what's the use of all this stuff? I mean "check hydration levels"? Do you need your watch to tell you that you are thirsty?

If they can get accurate, non-invasive glucose level monitoring to work, that'd be great for diabetics; other than that all these features would just be toys for hypochondriacs to obsess about.

I don't see Apply releasing this unless they can offer some genuine usefulness to the user.
 
Wiki How

CFreymarc said:
...enjoy the paid off mortgage, fun cars and hottie girlfriends. Take a big chunk out of what you made and roll it into other investments before the end of the year.
Click to expand...

Here's a link for the Pebble watch dudes to replace their hottie girlfriends when the iWatch comes out.
 
This launch will do the same for the wrist-wearable market that the iPod/iPhone did for the mp3/mobile phone markets: redefine. And like those markets, Apple is simply reacting to an opportunity in an existing market.

I have always had an appreciation for time pieces. Yet I've not worn a watch in 2 decades. Once I got my first mobile, it seemed unnecessary. Fast forward to today and I'm getting the itch to jump back into a wrist-wearable again. But my expectation and needs of such a device have evolved from just displaying time... or calculations (giggle)... or a stop watch. I'm currently experimenting with the Polar Loop, Fitbit Force and Nike+ Fuel band. While they all offer varying degrees of the same features, they offer vastly different experiences on the OS & app side. And this is exactly where I expect Apple to redefine. I'm less interested in WHAT Apple's device will do - knowing full well "clock" will be but one of its many features - than I am HOW it does what it does. And how it fits into their ecosystem.

Despite what many claim, this will be THE next must-have gadget. I'm expecting a $249-299 price point. And they won't be able to make them fast enough.

My ¢2.

Cheers.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Everyone wearing the same watch and using the same phone. What was the point of that Apple 1984 commercial again? I can't remember. :confused: :D
Click to expand...

But I thought everyone was using android phones? I mean the analysts keep telling us it has 80% market share. :confused:
 
The more interesting Mio product if you are active is their new Link. Less bulky, less expensive (no watch interface), supports ANT+ and Bluetooth to communicate with other fitness tracking apps and devices, and is designed to stay put through activity.
 
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