Apple is working on dedicated health data chip to analyze information from sensors?

According to a report broadcast today by CNBC, Apple is working on a dedicated chip that will analyze health data collected by sensors inside Apple devices. The company posted an opening on its Jobs at Apple webpage on July 10th, seeking someone to design, develop, and launch next-gen sensor technology in Apple products. The person hired would be part of Apple's "Health Sensing Hardware team" that "creates sensor solutions and technologies for Apple’s products." A later posting from earlier this month stated that Apple was "seeking a highly motivated engineer to help develop health, wellness, and fitness sensors, systems, and applications."

Apple has been receiving praise for the heart rate sensor found inside the Apple Watch. The feature, which relies on an optical sensor, has saved several lives thanks to the advance warnings received by owners of the wearable device. A dedicated health data chip would be designed by Apple and produced by a chip maker that owns fabrication facilities.

The company has been working on a way for the Apple Watch to measure the blood sugar readings of diabetics without requiring a blood sample. Diabetics, who must test themselves multiple times a day by obtaining a small sample of blood, have long sought an accurate and painless way to get this reading, which is used to determine how much insulin they need to take at a given moment. Apple started work on this project under the late Steve Jobs, and as of April of last year, there were 30 people on the team.

Last November, Apple and Standford University agreed to study how the Apple Watch might be able to detect irregular heart rhythms. Early detection of such a defect should be able to save lives.

source: Apple (1), (2) via CNBC