One Drop brings AI-powered blood sugar predictions to Type 2 diabetes with European approval

Using artificial intelligence to forecast and ward off oncoming changes in blood sugar levels has served as the new frontier in managing Type 1 diabetes for years—but beyond that remains a largely untapped and massive market, as people with Type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and gestational diabetes hope to see the same daily data.

There One Drop is breaking new ground, with a European approval in those indications for its glucose prediction engine that aims to give users early warnings, up to eight hours in advance.

The AI system is built on the company’s collection of nearly 25 billion data points gathered from millions of international users—including the daily logging of glucose levels, weight, blood pressure, food intake, physical activity and medication usage, either manually or via wearable devices.

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Since its launch in 2018, that information has been fed into predictive machine learning algorithms to deliver projections for people using continuous glucose monitoring systems, as well as longer-term forecasts for diabetes-related conditions.

"For any AI solution to be successful, it requires a vast amount of data,” One Drop’s senior VP of data science, Dan Goldner, said in a statement. "Obtaining the CE Mark for One Drop's glucose forecasts is a critical quality, safety, and regulatory milestone in making AI-powered, prospective self-care the first choice for addressing precision health in chronic conditions."

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Previously known for having its stylish, chrome-plated, digital glucose sensor sold alongside the iPhone in Apple stores, One Drop may find itself working again in the same areas as the tech giant: The company said it is developing a skin-based sensor capable of tracking a variety of diabetes biomarkers over the course of a day.

Meanwhile, it recently came to light that Apple has been the largest of two customers for Rockley Photonics, the newly public maker of light-based biosensors, in a deal that could supply the Apple Watch with blood sugar, blood pressure and hydration tracking features.

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At the same time, Bayer has staked One Drop with tens of millions of dollars in commitments, under plans to take the latter’s personalized digital care programs to chronic conditions beyond diabetes, such as in cancer, heart disease and women’s health.