Essential Information
- In May, Garmin submitted a patent titled “Pressure compensation for wrist-based pulse spectrometry” aimed at monitoring users’ “glycated hemoglobin level” through smartwatch technology.
- A Garmin smartwatch would enable non-invasive tracking of your HbA1c, or glucose levels associated with blood cells over time.
- The patent outlines the capability to track additional “blood content” such as COHb, MHb, SHb, O2Hb, among others, utilizing the optical PPG sensor.
- Currently, Garmin watches can show continuous readings from Dexcom blood glucose monitors.
Smartwatch manufacturers are competing to be the pioneers in offering non-invasive blood glucose tracking. Garmin has now joined this competition with a U.S. patent for monitoring your glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels.
You can refer to the U.S. patent database to locate the patent number “20250134464,” which details how Garmin might leverage its watches’ photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals—traditionally used for measuring heart rate and blood oxygen levels—to ascertain a “user’s glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) level.”
The patent clarifies that HbA1c evaluates the percentage volume of hemoglobin proteins in your blood that are “glycated,” or attached to glucose. Given that glucose remains bonded to red blood cells throughout their four-month lifespan, HbA1c “offers a long-term reflection of the average blood glucose level…and remains largely unaffected by a single meal or physical activity.”