Wading deeper into healthcare, Apple is recruiting engineers to develop custom chips for processing data from health, wellness and fitness sensors, The Motley Fool reports.
Here are six insights:
1. In a job posting for its health sensing hardware segment, Apple recruited "sensor ASIC [application-specific integrated circuit] architects to help develop ASICs for new sensors and sensing systems for future Apple products."
2. The Apple Watch and iPhone have multiple sensors, including ones used to monitor heart rate and sleep quality.
3. Last year, Apple was reportedly developing a noninvasive sensor for monitoring blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
4. The Apple Watch Series 3 featured heart rate monitor improvements with the ability to sense potentially fatal heart rate spikes. App maker Cardiogram sponsored a study showing the Apple Watch could detect atrial fibrillation with 97 percent accuracy.
5. The FDA chose Apple to participate in a pilot program to precertify companies creating software-based medical apps and devices.
6. At Apple's 2018 shareholder meeting, CEO Tim Cook said the company was in a "great position" to innovate because it won't have to rely on insurers or Medicare and Medicaid.