Apple has wanted to add blood sugar tracking to the Apple Watch from the very beginning. More than a decade later, the feature still has not arrived. Yet new technology now in testing suggests that non-invasive glucose monitoring is finally getting closer.
This matters because diabetes affects more than 10 percent of adults worldwide. Many people do not even know they have it. Early detection saves lives, but most current tools require needles or devices that go under the skin. Because of that, many people avoid regular checks.
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Blood Sugar Monitoring
Diabetics must track glucose to prevent serious damage to organs. For children and older adults, frequent finger pricks are painful and stressful. Even continuous glucose monitors still pierce the skin. A simple, needle-free method would remove a major barrier to daily monitoring.
Over the years, many reports claimed that Apple would soon bring this feature to the Apple Watch. Each time, expectations rose. Each time, nothing shipped. The problem has always been accuracy, size, and regulatory approval.
A New Non-Invasive Approach
Wired reports on a new device called Isaac that measures blood sugar through breath. Instead of drawing blood, it detects chemicals in exhaled air that rise when glucose levels increase. The device is small, about the size of a coin, and can be worn on a necklace.
According to the report, the device is now in human clinical trials at Indiana University. Researchers are comparing its readings with traditional blood sugar tests, starting with young people who have type 1 diabetes and later expanding to adults with type 2. The goal is to seek authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration.
“This is a de novo application, so we’re educating the FDA as we’re working with them,” says Fredrick Brooks, director of health technologies at PreEvnt. “They’ve been very interested and understanding.”
Right now, users must hold the device near their mouth and breathe into it. It does not offer continuous tracking. Still, it shows a realistic path toward non-invasive glucose checks. The main hurdle is size. Today’s hardware is too large to fit inside a watch.
If this approach gains approval, Apple gains a working model to refine. Blood sugar tracking may not arrive on the Apple Watch tomorrow. But for the first time in years, the technology finally looks close enough to matter.
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