Apple, seeking to make further inroads in health care, tested an app this year to help people with pre-diabetes manage their food intake and make lifestyle changes, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The company tested the service on select employees earlier this year, part of its broader push into blood-sugar features, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is secret. Though Apple doesn’t have plans to release the app, the company may eventually integrate the technology into future health products, including a non-invasive glucose tracker that it’s been developing for more than a decade.
The employees involved in the test needed to validate that they were pre-diabetic with a blood test. That means they don’t currently have diabetes but may be at risk of developing the type-2 version of the disease. As part of the test, they actively monitored their blood sugar via various devices available on the market and then logged glucose-level changes in response to food intake.
The idea behind the system is to show consumers how certain foods can affect blood sugar — with the hope of inspiring changes that could ward off diabetes. For instance, if users logged that they ate pasta for lunch and that their blood sugar spiked, they could be told to stop eating the pasta or switch to protein.
The study was intended to explore the possible uses for blood-sugar data and what tools the company could potentially create for consumers. For now, though, the app test has been paused to let Apple focus on other health features. A company spokesman declined to comment.
The work indicates that glucose tracking and food logging could be two important areas of expansion for Apple in the future. The company’s current health app lacks features for logging meals, a contrast with rival services. The research could also lead to Apple integrating third-party glucose tracking more deeply into its offerings.
Ambitious
The research wasn’t directly tied to Apple’s longstanding effort to build a no-prick glucose monitor, but it could ultimately help inform how the company handles that project. The non-invasive checker is one of Apple’s most ambitious health initiatives. The idea is to analyse a person’s blood without pricking the skin — a potentially ground-breaking advance in the fight against diabetes.
Apple often uses employee studies to get health features ready for public launches. It took a similar tack with its hearing aid and sleep apnoea detection features for AirPods and the Apple Watch. The Cupertino, California-based company has multiple labs on its campus for testing health features.
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The glucose studies were highly secretive — even compared with Apple’s previous projects — and employees required specific vetting from managers before they could participate in the programme. Several medical and non-disclosure agreements were also required to participate.
Today, glucose-testing systems typically require a blood sample, often through a finger prick. There also are small shoulder-worn patches from Abbott Laboratories and Dexcom that are less cumbersome — though they still require insertion into the skin.
About 15 years ago, Apple set out to create something less invasive. The project — dubbed E5 — was so under the radar at the start that Apple created a subsidiary dubbed Avolonte Health to operate it. That unit was eventually moved to Apple’s hardware technologies group and is now run by a deputy to the company’s head of silicon chips.
Last year, Bloomberg News reported that Apple had made headway on the project and believed it was finally on track to eventually commercialise the technology. But an actual product is still years away. Before the company can shrink down the sensor enough to fit it in a smartwatch, it is working on an iPhone-sized prototype. And even with that format, Apple has run into challenges with miniaturisation and overheating.
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The system uses lasers to shoot light into the skin and determine how much glucose is in the blood. Though Apple hopes eventually to provide specific blood-sugar readings, the initial version will likely be designed to just notify users if they may be prediabetic.
Apple is taking a similar strategy with new sleep apnoea notifications, which can tell smartwatch wearers if they may have the condition. An upcoming hypertension detection feature will work in much the same way. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
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