Glucose monitor maker DexCom says their monitor will be able to see a continuous graph of a user’s blood sugar levels via the upcoming Apple Watch. The Apple Watch glucose monitoring will be made possible via an app the company is working on for the new wearable that is expected to be available for the device as of its April launch.
The WSJ reports that the early availability of the app has been made possible thanks to the Food and Drug Administration taking a more hands-off approach as of last month. While medical hardware still requires FDA approval before it can be sold, companion apps no longer need prior approval – developers simply have to notify the FDA that the app exists …
DexCom’s glucose monitor continually tracks a person’s blood-sugar levels, and the app will then convert that data into a simple graph on the Apple Watch.
While conventional glucose monitors require users to prick their skin with a needle to draw a drop of blood to place on a test strip, the DexCom monitor uses a tiny sensor embedded just under the skin which takes a blood sugar reading every five minutes. DexCom’s companion app reads that that data and displays a graph of the readings on the screen of the Apple Watch.
The medical community is currently testing Apple’s iOS 8 HealthKit capabilities and related apps in tests at 14 top U.S. hospitals. Apple’s new wearable is likely to be included in similar testing as soon as it is released in April.
