Apple is believed to have set up a small team that is tasked with developing sensors capable of monitoring blood glucose levels on a continuous basis. The idea isn’t anything new though, having been in contention within Apple for years now. In fact, it happened to be one of the dream projects of the late Steve Jobs, who wished technology to help ease things between the patients on one hand and the healthcare workers on the other.
The idea, however, is easier said than done though the team of biomedical engineers working out of a nondescript office at Palo Alto is reported to be ready with the feasibility trials. If the trials are indeed successful, then it would mean Apple drawing the first blood when it comes to testing blood glucose levels without drawing the blood in the first place.
There have been numerous attempts to devise non-invasive means to monitor glucose levels though none have succeeded so far. If Apple’s efforts pay off, it will no doubt be a game changer in the healthcare sector, allowing for much more effective monitoring and eventually, treatment of diabetes. As it is, diabetes is fast turning out to be health menace the world over.
The project though remains a secret with details about it being sparse and unreliable. Apple though has been on a hiring spree off late, picking up biomedical experts to create a team that it believes can deliver the desired goal.
The project envisages projecting a beam of light through the skin to measure the extent of glucose in the blood stream. Apart from glucose, Jobs also wished the new-age smart wearables to be able to monitor oxygen levels and heartbeat to allow for a complete health monitoring package.
Success in the above field will no doubt also infuse new life in the smart wearable segment such as the Apple Watch. Such devices have so far played a distant fiddle to the more popular smartphone. That said, incorporating a comprehensive health monitoring system on smartwatches can make then ‘must-haves’ and can, in fact, bring about a sea change in the way the entire healthcare segment operates right now.
