Can Apple Revolutionise Diabetes Care with Non-Invasive Blood Glucose Monitor?

Apple has reportedly reached the ‘proof-of-concept’ stage for its sensor technology that can continually measure blood sugar levels without requiring skin-pricking for calibration or analysis, according to a report in Bloomberg. Its eventual plan is to incorporate the technology into the Apple watch, making it an essential device for people with diabetes worldwide.

Why it’s Notable: 

• Currently, people with diabetes heavily rely on a device to prick the skin for a blood sample. Even the diabetic patches from companies like Dexcom Inc. and Abbott Laboratories need to be inserted into the skin and replaced about every two weeks. Apple's technology uses a measurement process called ‘optical absorption spectroscopy’ that depends on wavelengths of light to determine blood glucose levels.
  
  

• The chip technology called ‘silicon photonics’ uses lasers to emit specific wavelengths of light into an area below the skin containing the interstitial fluid that can be absorbed by glucose. The light gets reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the concentration of glucose with the help of an algorithm. Apple has reportedly cleared this technology in preliminary trials as the results are comparable to that of the glucose trackers that require blood samples.

Industry Implications: 

• In 2021, approximately 537 million adults were living with diabetes and more than 95% of them had type 2 diabetes. This figure is projected to rise to 643 million by 2030. If perfected, Apple’s technology could not only be used to monitor diagnosed cases of diabetes, but also be a game changer by becoming a preventative measure that warns people if they’re prediabetic. This could help them make lifestyle changes to try and avoid developing type 2 diabetes, which is largely the result of excess body weight and physical inactivity.
  
  

• Currently, even the least invasive type of continuous glucose monitors (CGM) require a small needle on the back of the sensor to prick the skin and get a sample. Where many big companies like Google have tried and failed to develop a noninvasive monitoring system, Apple will have an advantage (especially over smaller players like Know Labs, GraphWear) given its hardware and software expertise and monetary strength. This could help Apple not only grab a big chunk of the invasive CGMs market, but also strongly position the Apple Watch as a health tool with its ability to take electrocardiograms, measure fitness levels, sense body temperature to calculate blood oxygen levels, and now track their glucose levels for its community of over 100 million users.