We have been hearing rumors that Apple is looking (or is already working on) a way to create non-invasive glucose tracking for the Apple Watch. This is versus current methods of glucose tracking which usually involves users having to draw their own blood for testing, which in some situations might not be sanitary or convenient, not to mention painful for some.However according to a study by Cardiogram (via Cult of Mac), it seems that the Apple Watch can already detect diabetes without the need for a glucose tracker. How is this done? This is done via the heart-rate monitor, or to be more specific, the light emitted by the monitor which when combined with neural networks is said to be able to detect diabetes in the user with an 85% accuracy rating.
According to one of Cardiogram’s co-founders Johnson Hsieh, “Your heart is connected with your pancreas via the autonomic nervous system. As people develop the early stages of diabetes, their pattern of heart rate variability shifts. In 2015, the Framingham Heart Study showed that high resting heart rate and low heart rate variability predicts who will develop diabetes over a 12-year period. In 2005, the ARIC study showed that heart rate variability declines faster in diabetics than non-diabetics over a 9-year period.”
This isn’t just limited to the Apple Watch however, and it can also be used with similar wearables that use similar heart-rate monitoring systems. That being said this is simply a study at this point in time so it is unclear if it will ever be put into practical application.
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