Apple has quickened its pace of developing blood sugar measuring sensors, as per the recent reports. It is said that the feature will come as an update to the Watch or maybe a whole new wearable will be developed for this purpose. The device will have optical sensors which will shine a light through the skin to test for sugar levels in the blood.
The attempt will prove to be a very significant breakthrough for diabetes patients. Diabetic patients will no longer have to go through the daily sin piecing rituals to monitor their blood sugar levels. Not only he process is invasive, but painful and the constant supply of strips becomes an expensive proposition.
Since the project is very crucial and intense, it will undoubtedly need tons of investment. The Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of leading glucose-monitoring company DexCom, Terrance Gregg, when got to know about Apple’s plans, remarked that in order to achieve this goal a company will need “several hundred million dollars or even a billion dollars” worth of investment.
The idea of a noninvasive glucose monitoring device was first envisioned by Steve Jobs. Apple had been working on this project for more than five years; it has recently expanded its endeavors and involved biomedical engineers, purchased medical-device developing companies and also created similar jobs at its Palo Alto campus.
With a global burden of more than 7 billion, diabetes mellitus is among the most commonly prevalent chronic diseases. According to Jake Leach, senior VP of research and development at glucose monitoring system maker Dexcom, “On average a lot of diabetes patients aren’t achieving what they want and that’s all about their glucose control. So if we can provide them with better information to make better decisions on managing their diabetes, I think we can get some of these better outcomes that are going to ultimately reduce the cost of managing diabetes.”
We wish Apple all the success in its vision. The idea is cutting-edge and need of the hour. With a non-invasive, medically accurate glucose monitoring device embedded into the Apple Watch or as a separate wearable; it will bring ease and convenience to billions across the globe.