![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/trak.in\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/IMG_20200915_233750-1280x720-1-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nDubbed E5, the project intends to measure how much glucose is in someone\u2019s body without needing to prick the skin for blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By adding the monitoring system to, say, an Apple Watch, the ultimate goal is to make that device an essential item for scores of diabetics around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project has been researched within Apple for over 12 years which goes back to the end of the Steve Jobs era and before the release of the first Apple Watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Latest developments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The company now believes it could eventually <\/strong>bring glucose monitoring to market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it eventually hits the markets, it would be a boon to diabetics and help cement Apple as a powerhouse now in health care as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The project apparently has \u201chundreds\u201d of engineers working on it as part of the Exploratory Design Group (XDG) within Apple, where it simply goes by the project designation \u201cE5.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Significance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s one of the most covert initiatives at the famously secretive company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Roughly 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and not to mention hundreds of millions worldwide typically rely on a device that pokes the skin for a blood sample.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are also patches from Dexcom Inc. and Abbott Laboratories that are inserted into the skin but need to be replaced about every two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How it would work<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Apple is taking a different approach called optical absorption spectroscopy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It uses lasers with specific wavelengths of light into the skin in areas where substances leak out of capillaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The light is absorbed by glucose and reflected back to the sensor, where an algorithm then determines a person\u2019s blood glucose level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The light is then reflected back to the sensor in a way that indicates the concentration of glucose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n An algorithm then determines a person\u2019s blood glucose level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n