[ad_1]
A Korean report claims that an Apple Watch blood glucose sensor will be included in the Series 7 device, when it launches later this year.
With health apps being a major selling point of the Apple Watch, the Cupertino-based company has long been expected to want to expand its medical capabilities …
Context
When Apple first launched the Apple Watch, the company primarily marketed it as a convenient way to view and respond to notifications. However, it became clear fairly quickly that it was the health and fitness features that were driving sales, and Apple adapted its messaging and product development accordingly.
CEO Tim Cook initially suggested that the company would be cautious in adding medical capabilities to the watch, because it feared the need for FDA approval could hold back innovation.
We don’t want the watch to go through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) process. I wouldn’t mind putting something next to the watch, but not the watch, because it would prevent us from innovating too much, the cycles are too long. But you can start to consider other things that might be adjacent to it – maybe an app, maybe something else.
Responding to customer demand, however, Cook changed his mind. The company added ECG functionality to the watch in 2018, including Afib detection – and last year blood oxygen saturation was added to the Series 6’s capabilities.
Apple Watch Blood Glucose Sensor
A blood sugar sensor would be an obvious next step. The American Diabetes Association estimates that more than 10% of Americans have type 1 diabetes and more than 26 million of them go undiagnosed. Adding a blood glucose sensor to the Apple Watch could play an extremely valuable role in prompting formal testing, diagnosis and treatment.
A AND News reports that the Apple Watch Series 7 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 will be able to measure blood sugar when they are released later this year.
Samsung Electronics will be equipped with a blood glucose measurement function in the new “Galaxy Watch 4” (working name) smartwatch to be launched in the second half of this year. This is a bloodless sampling method that detects the level of glucose in the blood without blood sampling using an optical sensor, and is expected to help manage the health of the general public as well as diabetics. […]
Not only Samsung Electronics, but also Apple is applying the blood sugar measurement function to the Apple Watch 7 which will be launched this year. With the associated patented technology, it focuses on reliability and stability before making the technology available.
It is not clear at this point whether the existing infrared sensor will also be able to act as a blood glucose monitor. You can already buy affordable home test devices that sync with your iPhone and Apple Watch, but these rely on little pin pricks. The focus is currently on non-invasive detection, and this can be achieved through infrared sensors.
The heart rate sensor in all Apple Watch is capable of acting as an O2 sensor, but Apple has reserved this feature for Series 6. Even though it turns out that the same sensor can also measure blood sugar. , the company may take the same approach and make it an exclusive feature of Series 7 for marketing reasons.
FTC: We use automatic income generating affiliate links. More.
Check out 9to5Mac on YouTube for more information on Apple:
[ad_2]
Source link