Apple (AAPL 0.33%) has made no secret about its ambitions in the healthcare market. Over the past several years, the company has developed a custom chip to process data from the health and wellness sensors on the Apple Watch, partnered with the Department of Veterans Affairs to jump-start the Health Records feature on the iPhone, and debuted a heart rate monitor in the Apple Watch that can detect potentially life-threatening spikes in a user's heart rate.
Now, Apple has set its sights on helping those with diabetes.
Image source: Getty Images.
A secret project
Apple is working on a top-secret project that will help the company make additional inroads into the healthcare field, according to a report by Bloomberg. This mission, which has been kept under wraps for more than a decade, involves measuring a diabetic's sugar levels without the need to draw blood -- one of the more painful aspects of a patient's ongoing disease-management regimen.
Apple has developed a non-invasive way to test blood glucose levels employing a specialized silicon photonics chip for use in a process known as optical absorption spectroscopy. While it sounds rather complicated, it's actually quite simple. The process uses a laser to shine a light, in a specific wavelength, into the skin. By measuring how much light is reflected back, the system can measure the amount of glucose -- or blood sugar -- present.
Apple has achieved major milestones recently, according to the report, and has reached the proof-of-concept stage, showing that the technology is feasible. Apple eventually plans to integrate the glucose monitoring technology into the Apple Watch.
Solving a common complaint
One of the biggest challenges for those who suffer from diabetes is keeping tabs on blood sugar levels. In most instances, this involves the patient pricking their finger and using a drop of blood to determine glucose levels by using an in-home testing kit. For the average diabetic, blood sugar testing is recommended between four and 10 times per day, resulting in a lot of finger sticks, which can quickly become a painful process.
There are other, less painful methods.
Several companies -- including DexCom and Abbott Laboratories, among others -- offer continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) solutions that measure glucose levels in real time, 24 hours per day, while allowing patients to track changes over time. These systems involve a wire or sensor inserted under the skin, which continuously detects and updates blood sugar levels, sending the information to a monitoring device worn by the patient. These systems also have limitations, as the sensor must be changed every seven to 14 days.
A sizable market
This could be big business for Apple. It's estimated that more than 10% of the U.S. population, or roughly 34 million people, have diabetes. Worldwide, about 537 million people suffer from the disease, but that number is expected to jump to 643 million by 2030 and 783 million by 2045.
If Apple is successful in its endeavor, the company could quickly make progress in the CGM market, which is expected to top $16 billion by 2030.
While this would no doubt be a positive development for Apple shareholders, it's also important to put it in context. In the company's fiscal 2022 (which ended Sept. 24, 2022), Apple generated revenue of nearly $394 billion, so even if the tech titan dominated the market, the new market would be a drop in the bucket compared to existing revenue.
That said, Apple never stops innovating, creating a sticky and ever-expanding ecosystem for its iPhone users, who now number more than 1.5 billion. That's just one of many reasons Apple stock is a buy.
