While Apple is mostly known for its slew of high-end and stylish consumer electronics, new reports have revealed that the company apparently has plans to get into the medical field by introducing a new device that would revolutionize diabetes treatment and tracking.
The holy grail of medical tech
A report from CNBC has revealed that Apple has formed a Secret Team of researchers, biomedical engineers, and scientists to develop a non-evasive way to keep track of glucose levels. Currently, the only way to keep track of glucose levels is by piercing the skin and extracting blood.
A user's blood is then placed on an external device with the appropriate sensors. Apple apparently wants to do away with the painful part and scan a person's glucose levels through the skin.
Years in the making
The report further reveals that Apple apparently started the project more than four years ago to fulfill Steve Jobs' vision of having a wearable device that can monitor all of a user's vitals, including heart rate, oxygen levels, and Blood Glucose. Even before the team was supposedly formed, Apple had already taken the appropriate steps to make Jobs' dream a reality. In 2010, Apple acquired a medical equipment company called Cor and hired its CEO, Bob Messerschmidt, to be part of its Apple Watch team.
Building an army of experts
Countless tech and medical companies have already tried to develop a way to track blood glucose levels without piercing the skin, but all of them have failed. Millions, if not billions, have likely already been invested in trying to find the technology, but so far it still seems to be out of reach.
This fact hasn't really stopped Apple, as it is still continuing to build an army of scientists and biomedical experts to work on the technology. At the moment, the alleged secret team is reportedly now comprised of 30 people that have been plucked from large medical tech firms such as C8 Medisensors, Medtronic, Vital Connect, Masimo Corp, and Sano.
More than just a watch
Apple's ultimate goal for the technology is clearly to embed the new non-invasive sensor in the Apple Watch. This would make the device essential for those with blood sugar-related conditions such as Hypoglycemia and Diabetes. However, if Apple does manage to develop such technology, it wouldn't really be ethical for them to keep the knowledge to themselves.
Several analysts believe that the technology may still be a long way off from being realized. It also isn't certain if Apple can succeed where so many other have failed. However, if they do succeed, they could be the proponents of a great medical breakthrough that would benefit a lot of people around the world.
