Apple Watch: Breakthrough in blood glucose sensor

Apple is apparently planning an exciting new feature for its Apple Watch. The global bestseller could soon be equipped with a new sensor that measures the user’s blood sugar level.

Blood glucose meter in Apple Watch after 12 years of development

Smartphones and other smart gadgets don’t just make our everyday lives easier. Even chronically ill people have long benefited from the possibilities opened up by modern devices. Nowadays, for example, no wearable can do without a heart rate monitor. Some smartwatches can even record an entire ECG of the wearer. Diabetics also benefit from technical progress. They can now measure their blood glucose levels with the help of a smartphone app and an associated Bluetooth patch on their skin. Although this saves the regular prick of the finger, it is still fraught with problems. Android devices, for example, occasionally experience connection interruptions.

What Apple apparently tries to implement in its Apple Watch should be much more user-friendly in this respect. According to Bloomberg report, hundreds of engineers have been developing a sensor for the smartwatch for more than 12 years. The biggest challenge here is probably that the measurement should be non-invasive. Up to now, the insulin level can only be determined by the classic prick or at least a measurement in the subcutaneous tissue. But the work now seems to have paid off. At least, the report indicates that the tech company wants to have made a big step forward in its development.

Permanent control possible

Diabetes is now a real widespread disease, which is particularly rampant in the United States. All the greater, of course, is the demand for appropriate measurement systems. Anyone who can score points here with user convenience and even a non-invasive method is likely to conquer the market in no time at all. It is therefore not surprising that other companies apart from Apple are also working on a corresponding sensor. After all, this method of measurement has more to offer than just the fact that the person no longer needs to be pricked. On top of that, such a sensor promises permanent measurement of the insulin level.

At present, this is not yet possible. Instead, current methods rely on measurement at regular intervals. As a result, an Apple Watch with the appropriate technology could not only permanently measure the pulse in the future, but also provide information on the blood glucose level at any time. Ultimately, it is not only diabetics who will benefit from this. Since the insulin content in the blood can always provide information about whether you are actually hungry at the moment or just “imagining” it, the sensor could also be wonderfully combined with diets.

Measurement with the aid of laser

But how does the sensor, which is currently probably in a test phase called “proof of concept”, work? The technology, which is used here, is apparently called “Silicon Photonics”. Laser technology is used here. The laser beams are beamed unnoticed into the wearer’s skin. The subcutaneous tissue then radiates the lasers back as a reflector. The aim is to be able to read the blood glucose level at the respective wavelength at which the beams are returned. The many millions of U.S. dollars that the tech company has apparently already invested in development thus seem to be paying off. According to Bloomberg, however, Apple is still a long way from reaching its goal. The sensor still has to be scaled down considerably before it can be used in an Apple Watch. Consequently, we can assume that it will be years before the first Apple Watch with a blood glucose sensor goes on sale.