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iWatch: Apple poaches more health-tech experts The fact that Apple is now recruiting senior executives from the medical technology industry is a strong indicator that the company is working on anything related to the much anticipated iWatch.
iWatch: Apple recruits additional professionals in the field of health technology
According to updates made to LinkedIn profiles, Apple has recruited at least a half dozen famous professionals in the field of biomedicine over the course of the past year. Apple is recruiting other medical professionals and hardware experts, although the number of hires is not clear, according to two people familiar with the hiring who declined to be named. One prominent researcher left the company two weeks ago, and Apple is recruiting other medical professionals and hardware experts.
The majority of the openings are in the field of sensor technology, which Apple CEO Tim Cook identified as one that was “ready to explode” the previous year. According to those with knowledge of the industry, these moves signal a vision of monitoring everything from blood-sugar levels to nutrition, going beyond the fitness-oriented devices that are now available on the market.
Within the realm of bio-sensing, this is a fairly niche-oriented play.
According to Malay Gandhi, chief strategy officer of Rock Health, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has supported renowned wearable technology businesses such as Augmedix and Spire, “This is a very specific play in the bio-sensing sector.” He was familiar with a few of the maneuvers in the game.
This year, Apple is under a lot of pressure to deliver on the promise that Cook made regarding new product categories. The fact that the corporation has not produced a new type of product since the iPad in 2010 is something that weighs on the minds of investors; despite a succession of buybacks and dividend distributions, the stock price of the company is still quite a ways below its highs.
Apple has successfully registered the “iWatch” trademark in the Japanese market. Several Apple patents describe gadgets that would be worn on the wrist, and in February, the company submitted a patent application for a pair of smart earbuds that would be able to count steps and recognize head motions.
A mobile health executive, who wished to remain anonymous and told Reuters about his recent meeting with an Apple executive from the iWatch team, requested that his identity not be used. He stated that the company has ambitions that go beyond wearable devices and is now thinking about creating a whole health and fitness services platform that is built after its app store.
Steve Dowling, a spokesperson for Apple, was asked about the company’s recent recruitment and health-tech goals, but he declined to comment on either topic.
The med-tech world is placing their hopes on Apple to create a platform similar to apps stores so that startups will be able to create their own own software and hardware mobile medical applications.
Taking a look around
“There’s no doubt that Apple is sniffing around this area,” said Ted Driscoll, a partner at Claremont Creek Ventures based in Silicon Valley, which specializes in digital health and medical equipment. “There’s no doubt that Apple is sniffing around this area.” He stated that it appeared as though Apple’s primary focus was on recruiting engineers who had experience “watching the body’s perimeters.”
Apple has been accused of recruiting biomedical engineers away from other companies such as Vital Connect, Masimo Corp., Sano Intelligence, and O2 MedTech.
Pulse oximetry is the most well-known product manufactured by Masimo. This non-invasive method of measuring oxygen saturation in patients serves as an indicator of their respiratory function. The tracking of vitals, such as a person’s heart rate and temperature, is the primary focus of Vital Connect. O2 Med Tech is also conducting research and development on novel technologies, in addition to testing with biosensors.
A search on LinkedIn reveals that Michael O’Reilly, chief medical officer at Masimo; Marcelo Lamego, chief technology officer at Cercacor; Ravi Narasimhan, vice president of biosensor technology at Vital Connect; and Nima Ferdosi, an expert in embedded sensors, are among those who have moved over to the Cupertino company.
According to one source, Alexander Chan, a former biomedical engineer at Vital Connect, is another employee who has betrayed the company. According to what is stated on his LinkedIn profile, he currently works at a “technology company.”
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Originally posted 2023-12-03 14:13:25.
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