The goal of this covert effort – dubbed E5 – is to measure how much glucose is in someone’s body without the need to prick the skin for blood. After hitting major milestones recently, the company now believes it can finally bring glucose monitoring to market, according to people familiar with the effort.
If proven, such a breakthrough would be a boon for diabetics and help cement the apple as a powerhouse in health care. The end goal, adding the monitoring system to the Apple Watch, would also make that device an essential item for millions of diabetes patients around the world.
There are still years of work ahead, but the move could spark a multibillion-dollar industry. Roughly 1 in 10 Americans has diabetes, and they usually rely on a device that pricks the skin for a blood sample. Dexcom Inc. And there are also patches from Abbott Laboratories that are inserted into the skin but need to be changed every two weeks.
Apple is taking a different approach, using chip technology known as silicon photonics and a measurement process called optical absorption spectroscopy. The system uses lasers to emit specific wavelengths of light at an area under the skin where there is interstitial fluid – substances that leak out of capillaries – that can be absorbed by glucose. The light is then reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the concentration of glucose. An algorithm then determines a person’s blood sugar level.
Hundreds of engineers are working on the project as part of Apple’s Exploratory Design Group, or XDG, a previously unreported effort for X, the moonshot division of Alphabet Inc. This well-known secret is one of Apple’s most secretive initiatives. Even fewer people are involved than in the company’s self-driving car venture, overseen by a special projects group, or the mixed-reality headset being developed by its technology development group.
The news weighed on shares of diabetes technology companies on Wednesday, with both Dexcom and Abbott falling more than 3% before recovering. Apple rose 0.3% to $148.91 by the close in New York.
A spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment. Meanwhile, a representative for Abbott said it is also developing new glucose monitoring products. “Continued innovation in health tech is critical,” said Scott Stoffel, an Abbott spokesman. “It is also complex and must be accurate, simple and affordable. Abbott is the world leader in continuous glucose monitoring because our FreeStyle Libre products meet those needs.
Apple has tested its glucose technology on hundreds of people over the past decade. In human trials, it has used the system with people who don’t know they are diabetic, as well as people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes. It compared its technique to standard tests of blood taken from a vein and samples taken from a prick in the skin, called capillary blood.
Apple’s system — more than 12 years in the making — is now believed to be in a proof-of-concept phase, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the project is confidential. The company believes the technology is viable but needs to be scaled down to a more practical size.
Engineers are working to develop a prototype device that is about the size of an iPhone that could be strapped to a person’s bicep. This would be a significant reduction from the early version of the system which was located on a table top.
One of Apple’s goals for the technology is to create a preventive measure that warns people when they have pre-diabetes. They can then make lifestyle changes to try to avoid developing type 2 diabetes, which occurs when a person’s body doesn’t use insulin properly. Apple’s regulatory team has already held preliminary discussions about getting government approval for the system.
But there’s a reason it’s considered a lunar target. Many startups – and some of the world’s largest companies – have tried and failed to develop a non-invasive monitoring system. In 2014, Google announced plans to create smart contact lenses that could measure blood sugar through the teardrop. This led to the suspension of the complex project in 2018.
Senior Apple executives believe the problem is that they are uniquely positioned to crack the company’s expertise in hardware and software integration – with their deep pockets. Chief executive officer Tim Cook, chief operating officer Jeff Williams and Apple Watch hardware head Eugene Kim are all involved in the project, according to people familiar with the situation, and it is already worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Apple Watch has slowly become a health device. The first model, launched in 2015, included a heart rate sensor, but focused more on fitness tracking. The device gained the ability to take electrocardiograms, or ECGs, from the wrist in 2018. It can also now sense body temperature – to keep track of women’s health – and calculate blood oxygen levels.
The Glucose system will rely on a slate of Apple-designed silicon photonics chips and sensors. The company tapped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to make the main chip to power the feature. TSMC, a major partner of Apple, already makes the main processors inside iPhones, iPads and Macs.
Before moving to TSMC, Apple hired Rockley Photonics Holdings Ltd. to develop the sensors and chips for the technology. was hired. Worked with. In 2021, Rockley publicly disclosed his work with Apple, fueling increased interest in the supplier. Apple later ended the partnership, and Rockley filed for bankruptcy last month.
While Apple has made major technology advances in the Glucose effort, it recently suffered a setback: The group’s leader, longtime scientific and engineering executive Bill Athas, passed away unexpectedly in late 2022. The work is now being led by some of Athas’ top managers, including Dave Simon and Jeff Koller. He reports to Johnny Suzzi, Apple’s head of chips.
Before becoming part of the XDG team, the project was shrouded in even more secrecy: It operated as its own startup called Avolonte Health LLC, which, to any outside observer, was unaffiliated with Apple.
The startup operated out of a small office building in Palo Alto, about 12 miles from Apple’s headquarters. Team members had Avolonte employee badges instead of Apple ones. That strategy kept Apple’s work during human trials under wraps, as well as its efforts to acquire patents and line up partners.
The project began in 2010 when Apple bought a startup called Rarelight, which offered an early approach to non-invasive blood sugar monitoring.
Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, while struggling with his health problems, instructed to buy the iPhone maker. Apple tapped Rarelight founder Bob Messerschmidt to begin his work on the glucose monitor, which was initially codenamed E68. Messerschmidt now runs a health company called Core Health.
He said in an interview that the deal ultimately happened because of his “vision of jobs combined with technology for health care”. People involved said that former senior Apple hardware executives Bob Mansfield and Michael Culbert were also driving forces behind the project. Were.
Messerschmidt was replaced as project head in 2011 by Apple veteran Michael Hillman, who left in 2015. Upon his departure, Evolente Health was wound up and the effort became part of Athas’ XDG. The team now works near the Apple Park headquarters.
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