Are there any reliable smart watches that can read your blood sugar levels?
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There are modern devices which can continuously monitor blood sugar levels for diabetes. A smart watch is one way to observe (read) the results from the monitoring devices (some only).
EG
Ideally a blood sugar monitoring device should be able to connect through an App to more than one brand or model of Smart Watch, or other Handheld.
A good starting point might be to ask your GP or Specialist which devices they are familiar with. Each monitoring device will likely have a list of recommended or suitable smart handhelds and watches. Some measuring devices may work better with a particular smart watch or smart phone/tablet OS than the alternatives. Hence one might need to look at the combination of monitoring device and smart device reader as a package?
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I’ve heard from NDSS that there should be one in Australia at the end oof the year, and there are Asian websites that advertise them but I don’t know if they are reliable
They aren’t reliable… or possibly a better word is they currently don’t exist. There are many sham products with spurious claims…to get consumers to part with their hard earned cash. These claim are possibly to piggyback on a new release from Apple suggesting they are trying to develop technology to measure blood glucose levels using non-invasive techniques incorporated into a Apple watch. Apple is yet to find a solution but hasn’t stopped others making sham claims.
These two articles are worth reading for background:
and:
The later states:
Smartwatches cannot currently monitor blood glucose levels directly, but you can link external CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) systems to your smartwatch to get blood sugar readings on your watch.
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thank you for the heads up
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I bought two. Reviews of them mostly said how great the BG checks were. Short story, no they are not. I was getting readings of between 6 and 7, with occasional between 5 and 6. This looks good, but if your diabetes is unstable, as mine is, its wrong. If you re just curious, you’ll still be none the wiser regarding your actual BGL. You can’t have a reading of 6.3, when a finger stick reading gives you 15.2. They are dangerous.
For general stuff, like steps and time, the cheap “smart” watches are fine. For anything remotely to do with your health, don’t trust them.
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Looking online, the ones claiming to measure glucose use algorithms from other measurements such as heart beat, oxygen, etc and then calculate a glucose level. This is extremely dangerous for a diabetic as the numbers are guestimates rather than real glucose readings.
They are more a novelty (or toy), rather than a medical instrument to rely on.
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Smart watches that measure blood sugar or medical devices that measure blood sugar and require a smart devices such as mobile phone or smart watch to collect and read the CGM (medical device)?
The second exist and are accepted aids to self management. Plenty of opportunity for confusion. Measurement vs Read.
There are smart watches which can present data from digital glucose monitors. The smart watches allow visual display of the recorded data. This type isn’t the subject of the original post.
What is the subject is smart watches which are being marketed online that claim to measure glucose. As outlined above,
Smartwatches cannot currently monitor blood glucose levels directly, but you can link external CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) systems to your smartwatch to get blood sugar readings on your watch.
I have seen advertisements on social media for such watches. An example being:
These watches don’t measure blood glucose, but use an algorithm to guestimate glucose using parameters which can be measured. This is the reason for the statement…
BTW, I have also seen advertisements for smart phone apps which measure blood pressure etc. When looking at comments/reviews it becomes clear they can record data manually or from a digital blood pressure gauge, but can’t measure blood pressure etc.
For a diabetic, If there was an accurate, non-invasive way to measure (viz. read) one’s glucose using smart watches, medical practitioners would be letting all their patients know. It would also be spruiked on websites which provide diabetic with information about the disease and how best to manage it. Such doesn’t occur.
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Apple and Google would be all over it like white on rice. Me, I’ll stay with stabbing my fingers several times a day until I can continue t afford the Freestyle Libre sensors I was using until I could no longer justify the cost ($204 + shipping per month) or until the government relents and subsidises everyone who is insulin dependent.
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The other point to mention is that in Australia we are fortunate to have the Therapeutic and Goods Administration which assesses product claims and administers medical devices.
If one is looking for a new glucose monitor to measure glucose levels to manage an ailment they have, it is extremely important to discuss this with their medical practitioners and ensure any devices used are approved by the TGA.
Current smart watches, like those provided in the above link or sold overseas and claiming to measure one’s blood glucose level are highly unlikely to meet TGA requirements for a medical device. If they did, the TGA would have received applications for approval. They haven’t (including
the register) which provides some evidence of the unsupported and potentially fraudulent claims of such devices.
Unfortunately the internet allows overseas sellers to market products on foreign platforms with spurious or unproven claims. This is why the above is extremely important to Australian consumers.
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Hi SueW
Very wise to ignore any new type of BGL monitoring unless and until it is cleared by YOUR endo team. As far as I know, the only way to accurately measure BGL is using your blood.
About CGM, I thought that last year all T1s are now subsidised for the kit through NDSS. I’m almost certain that my favorite T1, Miss 24, was telling me how pleased she was coz previously the subsidy ended at age 21.
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That is exactly right. However, as an insulin dependent T2 I feel quite insulted at being left out. I believe ALL insulin dependent diabetics should be subsidised. As a pensioner, I find it really difficult financially but because my diabetes is becoming unstable, a CGM is the most sensible thing I can do to retain/restore control. As for the finances… I see many “short rations” in my future.
That’s no good at all. Have you spoken to your local MP yet?
I have also seen smart watches that claim to be able to monitor your blood pressure. Is that now physically possible? How reliable are they? Some of them on Temu and other sites seem remarkably cheap!
Yes.
It varies and always with caveats. The American Consumer Reports is essentially Choice on steroids. This 2021 article answers most of your questions.
This 2023 article gets technical.
In the US only one gets an FDA tick - and it has a small cuff.
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They are, and they are quite nice…as watches. Not very smart though. B/P, forget it. BGL, nope. HR, yeah not too bad. Steps OK.
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Westmead Children’s Hospital has recently started recommending the G6 monitor.
It has the benefit of also coming with an injector that like the CGM is placed on the stomach. It can be set up to do the injection automatically, basically working as a replacement pancreas, issuing insulin when needed - I do not know if that has been allowed in Australia yet but the Americans use it. It can also work “manually” where you just specify the dose via an app. or a hand-held device delivered with the G6 injection kit.
The problem with non-intrusive monitors is that they are influenced by heat, moisture and other external factors making them unreliable at best.
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