For your health: Samsung's Gear 2 smartwatch and Gear Fit band. Photo: Reuters
For decades, medical technology firms have searched for ways to
let diabetics check blood sugar easily, with scant success. Now, the
world's largest mobile technology firms are getting in on the act.
Apple,
Samsung and Google, searching for applications that could turn nascent
wearable technology like smartwatches and bracelets from curiosities
into must-have items, have set their sights on monitoring blood sugar,
people familiar with the plans say.
These firms were variously
hiring medical scientists and engineers, asking US regulators about
oversight and developing glucose-measuring features in future wearable
devices, the sources said.
The first round of technology may be limited, but eventually the
companies could compete in a global blood-sugar tracking market worth
over $US12 billion ($12.7 billion) by 2017, according to research firm
GlobalData.
Diabetes afflicts 29 million Americans and cost the US
economy some $US245 billion in 2012, a 41 per cent rise in five years.
Many diabetics prick their fingers as much as 10 times daily in order to
check levels of glucose.
Non-invasive technology could take many
forms. Electricity or ultrasound could pull glucose through the skin for
measurement, for instance, or a light could be shined through the skin
so that a spectroscope could measure for indications of glucose.
"All
the biggies want glucose on their phone," said John Smith, former chief
scientific officer of Johnson & Johnson's LifeScan, which makes
blood glucose monitoring supplies. "Get it right, and there's an
enormous payoff."
Apple, Google and Samsung declined to comment,
but Courtney Lias, director at the US Food and Drug Administration's
chemistry and toxicology devices division, said a marriage between
mobile devices and glucose-sensing was "made in heaven".
In a
December meeting with Apple executives, the FDA described how it may
regulate a glucometer that measures blood sugar, according to an FDA
summary of the discussion.
Such a device could avoid regulation if
used for nutrition, but if marketed to diabetics, it likely would be
regulated as a medical device, according to the summary, first reported
by the Apple Toolbox blog.
The tech companies are likely to start by focusing on non-medical applications, such as fitness and education.
Even
an educational device would need a breakthrough from current
technology, though, and some in the medical industry say the tech firms,
new to the medical world, don't understand the core challenges.
"There
is a cemetery full of efforts" to measure glucose in a non-invasive
way, said DexCom chief executive Terrance Gregg, whose firm is known for
minimally invasive techniques. To succeed would require "several
hundred million dollars or even a billion dollars", he said.
Silicon Valley is already opening its vast wallet.
Medtronic
senior vice-president of medicine and technology Stephen Oesterle said
he considered Google to be the medical device firm's next great rival,
thanks to its funding for research and development.
"We spend
$US1.5 billion a year on R&D at Medtronic – and it's mostly D," he
told a recent conference. "Google is spending $US8 billion a year on
R&D and, as far as I can tell, it's mostly R."
Google has been public about some of its plans: it has developed a "smart" contact lens
that measures glucose. In a blog post detailing plans for its smart
contact lens, Google described an LED system that could warn of high or
low blood sugar by flashing tiny lights. It recently said it was looking
for partners to bring the lens to market.
The device, which uses
tiny chips and sensors that resemble bits of glitter to measure glucose
levels in tears, is expected to be years away from commercial
development, and sceptics wonder if it will ever be ready.
Previous
attempts at accurate non-invasive measurement have been foiled by body
movement, and fluctuations in hydration and temperature. Tears also have
lower concentrations of glucose, which are harder to track.
But
the Life Sciences team in charge of the lens and other related research
is housed at the Google X facility, where it works on breakthroughs such
as the self-driving car, a former employee who requested anonymity said.
Apple's efforts centre on its iWatch, which is on track to ship in October,
three sources at leading supply chain firms report. It is not clear
whether the initial release will incorporate glucose-tracking sensors.
Still,
Apple has poached executives and bio-sensor engineers from such medical
technology firms as Masimo Corp, Vital Connect, and the now-defunct
glucose monitoring start-up C8 Medisensors.
"It has scooped up
many of the most talented people with glucose-sensing expertise," said
George Palikaras, CEO of Mediwise, a start-up that hopes to measure
blood sugar levels beneath the skin's surface by transmitting radio
waves through a section of the human body.
The tech companies were
also drawing mainstream interest to the field, he said. "When Google
announced its smart contact lens, that was one of the best days of my
career. We started getting a tonne of emails," Mr Palikaras said.
Samsung
was among the first tech companies to produce a smartwatch, which
failed to catch on widely. It since has introduced a platform for mobile
health, called Simband, which could be used on smart wristbands and other mobile devices.
Samsung
is looking for partners and will allow developers to try out different
sensors and software. One Samsung employee, who declined to be named,
said the company expects to foster non-invasive glucose monitoring.
Sources
said Samsung was working with start-ups to implement a "traffic light"
system in future Galaxy Gear smartwatches that flashes blood-sugar
warnings.
Samsung Ventures has made several investments, including
in Glooko, a start-up that helps physicians access their patients'
glucose readings, and in an Israeli glucose monitoring start-up through
its $US50 million Digital Health Fund.
Ted Driscoll, a health
investor with Claremont Creek Ventures, said he had heard pitches from
potentially promising glucose monitoring start-ups, over a dozen in
recent memory.
Software developers say they hope to incorporate
blood glucose data into health apps, which is of particular interest to
athletes and health-conscious users.
"We're paying close attention to research around how sugar impacts weight loss," MyFitnessPal co-founder Mike Lee said.
After
decades of false starts, many medical scientists are confident about a
breakthrough on glucose monitoring. Processing power allows quick
testing of complex ideas, and the miniaturisation of sensors, the low
cost of electronics, and the rapid proliferation of mobile devices have
given rise to new opportunities.
One optimist is Jay Subhash, a
recently departed senior product manager for Samsung Electronics. "I
wouldn't be at all surprised to see it one of these days," he said.
Reuters
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