Apple plans to release Apple Watch that will measure blood glucose levels without piercing skin

Apple is developing technology that will allow it to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin. According to Bloomberg's sources, the manufacturer has already made some progress on the E5 project and intends to eventually use it in the Apple Watch. If Apple adds such a system to its wearable devices, it is possible that millions of people with diabetes will use these devices.

The source notes that this technology would strengthen the company's position in health care solutions. For example, one in ten people in the U.S. has diabetes, and to measure blood sugar levels, until now, you have mostly had to use only skin-piercing devices to get a blood sample at the time of measurement.

However, Apple's new technology works on the basis of silicon photonics and optical absorption spectroscopy processes. This technology uses lasers and sensors to measure blood glucose concentrations without piercing the skin, as well as special software to interpret the data.

Hundreds of developers from the Design Research Group (XDG) are working on this project; it is one of the company's most secretive initiatives. News of this Apple technology instantly affected the stock prices of the company's future diabetic technology competitors (such as Dexcom and Abbott). Abbott has already announced that it is working on new monitoring products, while Apple, on the other hand, declined to comment.

Apple has tested glucose monitoring technology on hundreds of people over the past 10 years. Currently, the technology is still believed to be in the proof-of-concept stage. Reportedly, the device in question should still become more compact. At the moment, developers are trying to create a prototype device half the size of an iPhone, which can be attached to a person's hand.

Previously, however, they were talking about a desktop device altogether. It is believed that over time, the technology could be integrated into the Apple Watch smartwatch, and it would notify users if they have signs of diabetes. The company is already in talks with U.S. regulators to approve the technology.

Not only Apple, but also other technology giants have not yet managed to create a compact non-invasive wearable system that would measure blood sugar levels. Apple has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the project, so there is every chance that the company will succeed. It is known that the company is working with TSMC to produce the necessary type of module, and before that it talked to other companies. It is known that work on the technology of non-invasive measurements began back in 2010.