Dexcom CEO says improved smartwatch support is on the way
The Apple Watch will soon become a better companion for diabetics, according to wearable glucose tracker makers Dexcom.
The company’s CEO, Jim Cramer, teased that the Apple Watch feature it’s been working is on track to launch within the next year. It will see its FDA approved G6 tracker send glucose monitoring data directly to the smartwatch while bypassing smartphones.
“It’s coming, and this tool is great for people with diabetes,” Cramer said.
The Dexcom G6 wearable, which was unveiled last year, is a glucose tracking device that eliminates the need to take finger pricks. Ostensibly, it’s a small change that offers a major lifestyle improvement for people with diabetes and looking to monitor on the move.
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While the latest Apple Watch does have serious health monitoring tech on board, to detect heart conditions like atrial fibrillation, it doesn’t currently offer any built-in features that cater for diabetics. And it could well be many years before that happens, despite rumors that Apple has a crack squad working on a diabetes tracking breakthrough of its own. Collaborations with the likes of Dexcom will help fill that void until Apple comes up with a solution of its own.
Cramer also revealed that Dexcom is working on its new G7 wearable platform, which is a joint venture with Verily, an offshoot of Alphabet (the parent company of Google). Teaming up with Verily will see its tech become even smaller and more discreet, and Cramer suggested it will be “a device for the ages”. What form factor that G7 tracker will take is unclear. We know that Verily first idea was to create a glucose-tracking contact lens, but it encountered difficulties making that a reality.
Apple and Verily are not the only ones with an eye on non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring for its devices. Fitbit partnered up with One Drop to bring diabetes management to its smartwatches and has a UnitedHealthcare partnership, a pilot program where people receive a Fitbit and Dexcom monitor to see how activity impacts their diabetes.
Apple will be hoping it can be the first to make a big breakthrough for something that’s a massive health concern in the US and one that’s growing all the time.
Source: CNBC
