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Report Claims iWatch Awaiting FDA Approval, Will Feature Blood Glucose and Sweat Sensors
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Tablets never caught on until Apple made one
Smartphones never caught on until Apple made one
MP3 Music Players never caught on until Apple made one.
It was the store that made these products so hot.
Peopole like to consume and Apple made this easy.
This does not work with health or fitness. If you want a lower glucose level, 30 punds less or a faster marathon time, you cannot simply purchase it on the iTunes store.
For many people the data about health or fitness on the watch will not be enjoyable at all.
If Apple is able to motivate more people to do something for health, great! But I doubt.
Sorry, but you are still missing the point. The standard components of smartphones miniaturised in a watch are able to provide a plethora of functions to both normal (notifications, texting, navigation) and fitness users (navigation, speed measurement, step counting, sleep monitoring), while the addition of simple sensors such as heart rate monitors add a total new level to that. Now IF and I say IF Apple succeeds in widening that capability to include Point of Care diagnostics such as blood glucose monitoring blood pressure measurement, blood oxygen metering, then it will tap into a whole additional market.
I work as a technology consultant for a company that develops both wearables and diagnostics products. Most companies that we work with in wearables are now investing in marrying wearables with diagnostics. The reason is that diagnostics are becoming mature technologies and cheaper and easier to integrate. Consumers now want to have more control over their fitness, which is exemplified by the success of Fitbit and others. Just like it is now common to monitor heart rate, it will be normal in the not too distant future to monitor a host of other metrics, including metrics that are medically relevant. We are at the start of a development where diagnostics will start to play an ever more prominent role in many people's lives.
What is missing on the market is a device that is able to consolidate all these functions into one, while remaining fashionable and not being a 3 inch diameter brick on the wrist, or something additional to an existing watch. It seems Apple is working on such a device.
One of the most important lesson that my corporate strategy professor taught me is to not focus on where the market is, but to look what developments are shaping the future market.
This is a very good example of Wayne Gretzky's quote "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.". I think we all know who used that quote a few years ago.
You said that this is not going to be the next big thing. We need to define big in this regard. It might not be a product that will generate the same revenues as iPhone or iPad in the short term. However in terms of importance this will be the biggest product that will be introduced in the entire consumer electronics market since the iPad.
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Absolutely.
I'll be here also. I'll be glad to concede that I'm wrong if I am.
Because less information is always better than more, right?
I think people should be acutely aware of their vitals on a regular basis. Maybe they'd be aware of their unhealthy habits and behavior. Maybe the positive feedback look might reward them for improving their behavior if this is executed right.
For example, if I can see that my blood glucose level is too high all of the time and I can see that it's lower when I eat healthier, then maybe I'll be more encouraged to eat healthier and have less deserts or processed foods.
We have an epidemic of obesity (not my words) and if this is a tool that will help people, then that's a good thing.
No I have no idea if any of this stuff is a gimmick or useful, but I'll take more information rather than less.
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You don't even know what it is, how it'll work, what it'll look like, do or cost. All you know is that you don't want one?
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I just don't know what to think anymore. The rumors are kind of all over the place.
I'm just going to reserve judgement until it's actually announced.
You work in a tech sector that involves wearables. It's very easy to lose sight of the bigger picture when, as you mentioned, this could have a fairly substantial impact on your surroundings.
I think this will be a big product in the short term. It will sell millions in its first few months because customers love Apple. But it will not be a revolution. And it won't see the same level of success as the iPhone, iPad, or Mac in the long term if this is truly a health-focused device. It's possible that the iWatch will have more to offerafter all, Health was supposedly a big part of iOS 8 and it was only briefly mentioned in the keynotebut if it's just a sensor-filled bracelet that lets you answer phone calls, it's going to be a hard sell.
I am in regardless.
I remember buying ipad 1 when everyone didn't know what it was or going to be used for. I fell in love
I remember buying ipad 1 when everyone didn't know what it was or going to be used for. I fell in love
It seems that scales don't work for people who are gaining weight and on their way to obesity, I can't see a health band or whatever it will be called doing so for the masses. People who are into health and fitness may find this quite useful. Non invasive glucose monitoring would be huge for diabetics, but what about the average, overweight, out of shape American consumer?
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If it can do that it will be the first device able to do so. There is no indication elsewhere to indicate that this is close to happening.
That's great for type 1 diabetics who are insulin dependent. Type 2 diabetics will still need to monitor blood glucose levels.
As a diabetic, I came here to say exactly this. Thank you, good person. That said, given glucose monitoring is really a niche technology limited to diabetics (and really frequently only to the much smaller percentage of type 1 diabetics), I'm excited to see the potential of allowing a wider base of development to see what can be produced to make it more efficient for folks like us with T1.
maybe just a niche product for health nuts or maybe something different?
What if its more of an instrument panel for your body?
-your glucose is low
-you have too much salt in your diet
-you are overexerting yourself
-you need sleep, stop driving
-your blood alcohol is high, don't drive
-you don't get enough sleep
-you may have just had a heart attack, go to a hospital immediately
-your life style is not active enough
-you may have sleep apnea
-you have low blood pressure
-you have a temperature, you may be getting sick
-you may be ovulating
might be a gimmick or might be in ten years, nobody will remember that there was a time we didn't monitor ourselves...
What if its more of an instrument panel for your body?
-your glucose is low
-you have too much salt in your diet
-you are overexerting yourself
-you need sleep, stop driving
-your blood alcohol is high, don't drive
-you don't get enough sleep
-you may have just had a heart attack, go to a hospital immediately
-your life style is not active enough
-you may have sleep apnea
-you have low blood pressure
-you have a temperature, you may be getting sick
-you may be ovulating
might be a gimmick or might be in ten years, nobody will remember that there was a time we didn't monitor ourselves...
^^^^^
I can see the commercial now... professional athletes playing basketball. A track runner pushing himself to the extremes. An olympian swimmer being monitored by scientists and a coach, attempting to knock off a split second from his time (think rocky IV).
Now cut to normal people. A morning jogger keeping her heartrate in the zone. A middleaged man being notified to check his glucose level. A young man leaving the office party and getting in his car. He looks at his watch and calls a cab instead. An elderly man shoveling snow and his device tells him to stop now and seek medical help. An elderly woman collapses in her house and her watch calls 911. And finally, a young couple struggling to have a baby are notified of the optimal times to do you know what. Commercial closes with snow shoveling guy talking to his doctor, elderly lady alive in the hospital and young couple holding their newborn....
I can see the commercial now... professional athletes playing basketball. A track runner pushing himself to the extremes. An olympian swimmer being monitored by scientists and a coach, attempting to knock off a split second from his time (think rocky IV).
Now cut to normal people. A morning jogger keeping her heartrate in the zone. A middleaged man being notified to check his glucose level. A young man leaving the office party and getting in his car. He looks at his watch and calls a cab instead. An elderly man shoveling snow and his device tells him to stop now and seek medical help. An elderly woman collapses in her house and her watch calls 911. And finally, a young couple struggling to have a baby are notified of the optimal times to do you know what. Commercial closes with snow shoveling guy talking to his doctor, elderly lady alive in the hospital and young couple holding their newborn....
I understand what you are saying, but I'm not even close to losing sight of the bigger picture. A major part of my activities is focused on exploring that bigger picture, as I'm responsible for market entry strategies for a variety of technologies.
I still disagree with you that this won't be a revolution. Let's see in two years where we are. This is a very interesting period...
There is research evidence to support the hypothesis that gadgets like fitbits do motivate some percentage of the general populace to get more exercise than they would without.
Not enough for a marathon, but enough to get them to a lower health risk category.
Will never, ever happen as this article describes.
Sweat sensors? Possible.
Heart rate monitor? Probable.
Non invasive glucose monitoring? Nope.
Besides the fact that there isn't reliable tech out there yet (induced Raman is still quite messy, and isn't portable), such a move would firmly plant the iWatch in medical device land, which is a major bag of hurt. Every iteration would have to go through the FDA, and reliability and accuracy would become key factors for its approval. Not to mention this would open Apple to a whole new realm of litigation, and software updates would really, really suck.
Sweat sensors? Possible.
Heart rate monitor? Probable.
Non invasive glucose monitoring? Nope.
Besides the fact that there isn't reliable tech out there yet (induced Raman is still quite messy, and isn't portable), such a move would firmly plant the iWatch in medical device land, which is a major bag of hurt. Every iteration would have to go through the FDA, and reliability and accuracy would become key factors for its approval. Not to mention this would open Apple to a whole new realm of litigation, and software updates would really, really suck.
Some groundbreaking news that may interest you.
Human studies have already been conducted. They have repaired subjects' heart's by injecting their own modified adult stem cells; from scar tissue to heart valves, the results have been more than expected. Even more impressive, CNS repair. Subjects who are paraplegic, have back and neck injuries, severe nerve damage, ert. have regrown damaged tissue and have regained (or in some instances gained) the ability to walk, used limbs once thought lost for life, and are pain/injury free.
The next experiment involve curing diabetes. I've been in touch with the program(s) to determine if I'm a candidate as a Type 1 diabetic in great health since age 12 (now 37).
The only question left is how this will hit the market (now when) and who will be awarded patents, etc.
Lastly, a summary from one of their studies a while ago involving mice.
Stem Cell Research Wins Medicine Nobel 2012
Human studies have already been conducted. They have repaired subjects' heart's by injecting their own modified adult stem cells; from scar tissue to heart valves, the results have been more than expected. Even more impressive, CNS repair. Subjects who are paraplegic, have back and neck injuries, severe nerve damage, ert. have regrown damaged tissue and have regained (or in some instances gained) the ability to walk, used limbs once thought lost for life, and are pain/injury free.
The next experiment involve curing diabetes. I've been in touch with the program(s) to determine if I'm a candidate as a Type 1 diabetic in great health since age 12 (now 37).
The only question left is how this will hit the market (now when) and who will be awarded patents, etc.
Lastly, a summary from one of their studies a while ago involving mice.
Don't we all share a vision of the future in which you are diagnosed with an illness at the very earliest stages by some device in your home that monitors you? Was it just me?
If you share it then what type of company is going to bring it to you? Manufacturers and large scale medical equipment that have no experience in the consumer market or a company that innovates in the consumer market and has a track record of redefining normality?
You don't know what it looks like. What features it has. What capability it has. What the price is.
And you've reached a verdict. Impressive!
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but if it's just an over-sized iPhone that doesn't even let you answer phone calls, it's going to be a hard sell.
This ignorance seems to make the rounds every few years. Like clockwork.
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Placing it in FDA approved "medical device land" is not as mysterious and scary as you try to make it seem. Apple has the staff to manage this. Additionally, its absolutely necessary in order to have it as a component of the dialog between patient and doctor that Apple and Mayoclinic are establishing with Health/Healthkit.
As already detailed, FDA bar for accuracy is exceptionally low.
Non-invasive glucose monitoring is probable and has been actively researched for years. Apple has the capital is buy/hire/expedite R&D
iWatch will change the game for wearable device industry
I wonder what your comment would have been if Samsung was making a phone with similar capabilities.
I'll guess.
"What a gimmick!"
My guess is the sweat sensor would be looking for salt concentration in order to assess hydration levels?
