The latest news about the Apple Watch is that it offers a glucose tracking app, a first-of-its-kind in wearable devices for diabetics.
Apple Inc. is collaborating with Callifornia-based DexCom, a medical device manufacturer that makes monitors geared for diabetics and glucose monitoring.
Apple is interested in working with DexCom and the synergy between them could produce a first-of-its-kind wearable smartwatch capable of detecting glucose levels in diabetics.
Wth the Apple Watch estimated to cost within a $300-$5000 range, potential buyers are already comparing features versus prices. The Apple Watch is expected to unveil in a few months. The release could come in tandem with an update on the rumored iPhone 7, another hotly amticipated smart device from the Cupertino California-based tech giant.
A Wall Street Journal report said Apple uses a sensor and an app to measure levels of sugar in patients using the glucose monitor. Blood glucose levels are checked every five minutes by the sensor, which is implanted inside the body. Apple Watch is reportedly slated for release in April coinciding with the app's availability.
Two iOS applications for the glucose monitor are ready for use, according to Dexcom CEO Kevin Sawyer. Compatible versions for the Android platform are a work in progress.
"In the near term, we'll focus on CGM data presentation," he said in a WSJ report. "Certainly over time we will have broader apps that include more. We want to have pump information and other diabetes information.
"But we haven't laid out a pipeline for that, we're still developing our tools. You'll hear more in the future."
The app, which will not need to seek pre-market approval from the FDA thanks to a recent reclassification, will allow the Apple Watch to serve as a secondary display device for the Dexcom G4 (and upcoming G5) continuous glucose monitor system, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
The medical device maker is likely to bypass FDA' s pre-approval due to the product's down classification.