Non-invasive glucose monitoring helps millions of people manage their diabetes and is a "really important area," according to Sumbal Desai, Apple's vice president of health. Speaking to Indian publication Businessline (opens in new tab), Desai said that "a lot of science is needed" to implement this feature.

However, glucose tracking is an important goal to aim for if Apple aims to further refine the Apple Watch's health credentials. It would open up the device as an essential tool for the 422 million diabetics worldwide. Many of them must endure blood glucose monitoring systems that prick their fingers multiple times a day.

In the United States alone, according to the CDC's National Diabetes Statistics Report, 34.2 million Americans, or virtually one in ten, will have diabetes in 2020.

And in fact, this is something Apple has been working on for years.

Desai's comments are consistent with a report last week by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, citing unnamed sources, who claimed that non-invasive glucose monitoring is "feasible" but still in the "proof of concept" stage. He added that the challenge will be to fit it into the Apple Watch's small form factor. Apple's prototype sensor is roughly the same size as the entire iPhone, so shrinking it to fit in the Apple Watch chassis will require some ingenuity.

Not unlike the way the Apple Watch collects heart rate readings, the blood glucose readings rely on a laser system called optical absorption spectroscopy. Light from the laser is absorbed by glucose in the interstitial fluid and the resulting reflection is used to measure glucose levels in the body.

According to Desai's interview, Apple is only the "beginning" of the journey to health.

In other words, it is unlikely that this feature will be implemented in time for the Apple Watch Series 9, but we could see it within the next few years.

Desai told the site that Apple wants to "understand your health faster and faster" and make people "feel empowered and educated to drive their own health care."

From Tom's Guide [21]