Blood glucose monitoring has always been one of the most-watched technologies in digital health and smart wearables. In early 2017, Health Tech Insider first covered Paris-based PKVitality‘s ongoing development of a new technology that uses microscopic probes to measure glucose in interstitial fluid. Interstitial fluid is the liquid between cells in the body; it delivers nutrients to cells and carries waste products away. We next wrote about PKVitality in late 2021 when the company announced the beginning of clinical trials to determine the glucose level measurement accuracy of the PKVitality K*Watch Glucose, a continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) smartwatch.
Fast forward seven months and in July, 2022, PKVitality announced the results of its third clinical trial of the K*Watch Glucose. According to a company news release, the first two clinical trials found margins of error of accuracy (MARD) of 29% and 19%, respectively, compared to the glucose level reports using unspecified conventional blood glucose measurement methods. The initial goal was 17-18% accuracy error. In the third clinical trial the K*Watch Glucose achieved 16% accuracy error, beating the design goal. PKVitality stated that improvements in the micro-tip patch on the back of the watch and in the analysis algorithm accounted for the error rate improvements in the subsequent trials.
We don’t have much detail about the study, which apparently has not yet been published. We’ve reached out to PKVitality to request more information about the testing and will report here when we learn more. We don’t generally cover technology studies based solely on company news releases. However, because noninvasive, painless continuous glucose monitoring is a high priority health need for millions of people and due to PKVitality’s relatively long-term work in the field, we wanted to be sure to get the word out on this potentially exciting development.
