Apple Watch and Blood Sugar Monitoring

I'm quite a bit of an Apple product fan as it is, having recently been exposed to the joy of Apple TV. Since before Christmas I've been excitedly awaiting the launch date for the new Apple Watch- a 'smart watch' that will apparently do all of the things your normal watch does, along with many of the tasks that your mobile phone device can do too. Which makes you wonder if in a few years time we'll all be walking around like CIA agents speaking to our sleeves because our watches are phones, or checking our emails as we check the time. But one possible application I'm very excited about regarding the Apple watch is blood sugar monitoring!

Word on the technology grape vine is that DexCom are currently developing an app that will enable the Apple watch to show blood sugar levels gathered from the glucose monitoring device and display it in the form of a graph. Any integrated type of technology that makes diabetes management easier is a winner with me. A common misconception with this new technology however is that the Apple watch will be able to measure blood glucose levels by itself. But it will need an extra device like the ones we currently use to measure glucose levels now. In my experience, devices that enable you to pick up patterns in your blood sugar readings are very helpful as it provides you with enough information to manage your diabetes and insulin doses accordingly.

The new DexCom device being created to work alongside the app continuously tracks blood sugar levels and then sends the information to the app. Which is what is then supplied to the Apple watch's DexCom app and represented in a graph type format. It is thought that the DexCom app will be ready to go when the Apple watch is launched in April of this year, although Apple are yet to have publically approved any apps, according to IBTimes (2015). The IBT article also notes that the FDA released draft guidelines in January on how it will regulate wearable technology in addition to health and fitness software. Having had diabetes for coming up to 14 years, I've witnessed many advancements in diabetes technology and as an insulin pumper I feel that I benefit from said technology everyday. So hopefully the Apple watch and DexCom app will become a great way to manage diabetes data discreetly and effectively everyday.

(Picture: Redmondpie.com)