An Apple Watch capable of measuring blood sugar will take years. A few weeks ago, Bloomberg reported that Apple is continuing to work on a future Apple Watch with features that should allow you to measure blood sugar without any invasive action (no need to prick your fingers with the dedicated hands to release the drop of blood to measurement): a dream for people with diabetes who need to constantly measure the value of blood glucose concentration.
Apple has patented a security system for devices with flexible displays
The Verge site returns to the question of the glucometer integrated in the Apple Watch explaining that creating a reliable device with functions of this type is not simple and although various sensors and techniques have been developed, there are numerous parameters to take into account and which make it rather complex build a reliable non-invasive blood glucose meter.
Sweat-aware sensors can report erroneous readings due to the heat in a room; other problems are caused by not easy reading with optical sensors in people with darker skin or in the presence of tattoos (dark colors do not reflect light in the same way as lighter colors and other complications derive from melanin, the substance responsible for ‘browning of the skin when exposed to the sun).
What Apple has managed so far is a small box to be placed on a table; assuming that everything works as it should, there is still a lot to do to be able to reduce everything and integrate sensors and so on in a smartwatch. In any case, it will be necessary to create a prototype, and being a medical instrument, Apple will have to collect data and prepare “peer review” evaluations (a scientific evaluation procedure to verify its suitability). Even peer review will not be enough and if all goes well, it will then be up to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – the US government agency that deals with the regulation of food and pharmaceutical products – to give the definitive ok to the product.
In short, if an Apple Watch with a glucometer arrives, it will still take many months, probably years, to obtain a truly reliable device. The scientific approach takes time, and the data that comes from self-monitoring with a glucometer must be as precise as possible, to avoid clinical consequences and problems which could lead to incorrect data.
