Can Smartwatches Measure Blood Sugar? Here’s the Answer

Can Smartwatches Measure Blood Sugar?

Smartwatches have become one of the trendiest devices of our time. They are wearables that come with many features. These devices connect to your smartphones to operate and provide the best features. Most people opt for smartwatches with the sole goal of tracking their fitness and monitoring their health.

Smartwatches are becoming more advance day by day. Their features started from fitness tracking and simple notification showing to responding to messages and monitoring the health of its user. They can be used to monitor the heart rate of the user, sleep tracking, tracking physical activities, and cycle predictions. This information can be used to identify health issues before their severity is increased and to get good insights into your health.

They offer personalized healthcare data but our question is can smartwatches measure blood sugar?

What is Blood Sugar?

Blood Sugar Level or more commonly known as diabetes is a chronic disease in which the sugar levels are elevated and result in serious damage to hearts, blood vessels, kidneys, eyes, and nerves. There are three main types of diabetes, type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes.

According to the data published by CDC, about 37.3 million adults in the United States have diabetes. It is the seventh leading cause of death in adults in the United States. It is also the number one cause of kidney failure, adult blindness, and lower-limb amputations. In the previous 20 years, the diabetics’ number has more than doubled.

The most noticeable thing is that 1 out of every 5 diabetic persons, doesn’t know they are diabetic. To entertain this issue one must know, can smartwatches measure blood sugar? In order to solve this, tech experts are struggling and putting efforts to make testing blood sugar levels more convenient.

Also, check our comprehensive review of Apple watch series 7

Can smartwatches measure Blood Sugar? and their levels?

Smartwatches aren’t capable of measuring Blood sugar levels directly until now. However, they can be connected to external monitoring devices like the CGM, and continuous glucose monitoring devices to measure the blood sugar levels and get the readings on your smartwatches. They can monitor your heart rate, diet, calorie intake, and blood oxygen levels and thus provide you with better insights into your health.

Smartwatches can’t directly measure blood sugar levels however, they can be a great and handy tool for diabetics. They don’t have direct measuring features but can be linked to Blood sugar measuring devices and used to receive data on your wrist and keep it organized to have a good insight into your health status. This can be done by using certain apps dedicated to collecting and maintaining blood sugar level data.

This has been the dream of diabetics, as it can become really hectic and exhausting to check and maintain the blood sugar levels on regular basis. Diabetics often ask Can Smartwatches Measure Blood Sugar? There are several speculations that king of smartwatches, which are Apple and Fitbit will release smartwatches that can measure blood sugar levels directly.

However, that will happen sometime in the future. But to date, there is no direct method of measuring blood sugar levels using smartwatches.

Which CGM is compatible with Smartwatches?

With the advancement of the smartwatches and their features, the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Devices (CGM) have also advanced their technology and feature options which enable them to be paired with the smartwatches. The CGM devices that are compatible with most smartwatches include Dexcom, Medtronic, and Freestyle Libre.

Dexcom and Garmin Fusion

Garmin was the first brand to introduce the concept of linking the Dexcom CGM device to a smartwatch to receive data regarding blood sugar levels. Garmin launched the Connect IQ apps for connecting smartwatches with mobile phones many years ago. However, it has recently added some new features, one of which is the ability to connect with the Dexcom app and receive notifications regarding the blood sugar levels of the users.

This integration allows the users to view real-time blood sugar levels, as well as a 3-hour history. Apart from living to monitor data, it also allows for reviewing your previous data and seeing the impact of various activities on your blood sugar levels. The integration allows you to see your glucose levels at a glance on your wrist.
Click to read extensive research on Garmin smartwatches’ compatibility with Iphone

Medtronic

It is the world’s largest insulin maker. It is known as the only manufacturer of CGM. The CGM manufactured by Medtronic is Guardian Connect. However, even after being the only manufacturer, its devices aren’t compatible with any of the Apple or Android smartwatches. If Guardian Connect is used as a stand-alone product, the user can view push notifications and status alerts on its compatible watches.

Apart from these CGM manufacturers, there are others like Supersapiens, Eversense CGM, Freestyle Libre, etc., however, they aren’t compatible with any of the Apple or Android smartwatches yet.

There aren’t any smartwatches that can directly penetrate into the skin to measure Blood Sugar levels or use a non-invasive glucose monitoring method. However, a few smartwatch manufacturers in collaboration with CGM manufacturers, have now made it possible to link the devices and display the readings from the monitors on your wrist.

How does the smartwatch measure Blood sugar levels?

Smartwatches don’t measure blood sugar levels directly. The smartwatches have certain apps. They use Bluetooth to receive the data from the CGM sensor/transmitter. Therefore, they don’t measure the blood sugar level directly. They just show the readings and organize them properly, to give you a proper insight into your health.

The Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGM) consists of glucose sensors. These sensors penetrate into the skin to measure the sugar levels in the blood. These measurements are then sent wirelessly using a transmitter to the receiver of the compatible system such as smartphones or smartwatches.

Smartwatches and Diabetic patients

Smartwatches can help diabetic patients in a number of ways. They are an excellent companion for diabetic patients as they allow them to have proper insights regarding their health. Smartwatches can be used to alert patients when their blood sugar levels are at lower or higher levels. They can help in managing diabetes. This can be done by providing proper data and tracking the food intake, physical activities, and insulin.

It is well-known that diabetic patients are required to follow healthy meal plans and a healthier lifestyle. They are required to keep their blood sugar levels within the limits mentioned by the doctors. It is required to have a balance between what they eat and their physical activities. In order to do this effectively, they can use smartwatches to track their food intake and physical activities.

Do the Smartwatches show accurate readings?

The smartwatches don’t measure the blood sugars by themselves and thus their only role is receiving the data from the CGM monitors and displaying it to their users. The accuracy of the measured data depends on the CGM monitors.

History of Smartwatch Diabetes Level Detectors

In the past, in 2001, the concept of measuring blood sugar levels using wristwatches was introduced. It focused on non-invasive blood sugar monitoring. This product was approved by FDA however, it failed in around 2007. There were a number of reasons for this. The two main reasons were that it caused skin irritation and the other was that it lagged significantly as compared to actual blood glucose levels.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS-Can Smartwatches Measure Blood Sugar?

Can a smartwatch tell your blood sugar?
The simple answer to this question is NO, they can’t measure the blood sugar levels directly. They can be linked to external devices to get the readings onto your wrist.

Can Fitbit monitor blood sugar?
Fitbit can track blood sugar levels and keep a record of the readings and activities. However, like other smartwatches they can’t measure blood sugar levels directly. They require to be linked to external CGM devices.

Can the Apple Watch Measure sugar?
Apple watches can’t measure blood sugar levels directly. However, it is expected that Apple will launch watches that will have sensors fitted on the back side to measure blood sugar levels.

Can you check blood sugar without pricking your finger?
Yes, blood sugar levels can be measured without pricking fingers. This can be done using noninvasive CGM monitoring devices. They require you to place sensors on different parts of the body for specific times and measure blood sugar levels.

Which watch can detect blood sugar?
Smartwatches aren’t specifically designed to measure blood sugar levels. They are rather designed

Can Smartwatches Measure Blood Sugar?-CONCLUSION

Smartwatches are one of the best companions for diabetic patients. They don’t have the ability to measure their blood sugar levels directly, which is expected from them in the near future. They allow you to have your blood sugar readings at your wrist and have proper and organized insights about your health status. Smartwatches have the ability to provide alerts regarding your health. They can be linked to non-invasive CGM systems to avoid no or less pricking fingers.

This complete information has answered your question, Can Smartwatches Measure blood sugar?. Now you can go through the brands which offer to measure blood sugar features.

Spare some time to read our in-depth analysis of radiation caused by a smartwatch & how to use mk smartwatch
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