#Apple poaching medical technology experts for #iWatch

Apple has been long rumoured to be working on the iWatch wearable device that will focus on health and fitness. It looks like the Cupertino giant is readying a team of senior medical technology experts who will help the company in its plans. 

According to a report by Reuters, Apple has hired at least half a dozen prominent experts in biomedicine, over the past year, as evident from LinkedIn profile changes. It also cites two people familiar with the hiring as saying that a prominent researcher joined Apple two weeks ago, and that the company is recruiting other medical professionals and hardware experts. 

It states that a major part of the hiring is in sensor technology which suggests that the device may allow monitoring everything from blood-sugar levels to nutrition. 

Apple has poached biomedical engineers from companies including Vital Connect, Masimo Corp, Sano Intelligence and O2 MedTech, as per the report. 

Perhaps Apple is working on a wider health and fitness platform. The report also cites a mobile health executive who recently sat down with an Apple executive from the iWatch team as saying, "The company has aspirations beyond wearable devices, and is considering a full health and fitness services platform modelled on its apps store." 

As per recent rumours, Apple has ordered the production of 3-4 million units of the iWatch for the second quarter and that the device will hit the market in the second half of 2014. 

Apple recently received a patent for a device that can be worn "as a wrist-watch device," sparking rumours that iWatch is coming soon. It is expected that the device will be announced alongside the iPhone 6 in September or with next-generation iPads in October.

Ref - TOI