Apple boss Tim Cook has been testing a device that attaches to an Apple Watch and could be revolutionary for people with diabetes, according to a new report.

The glucose monitor could provide real-time information for millions on how exercise and food changes blood sugar levels.

It is described as the 'holy grail' of life sciences, because it's difficult to monitor blood sugar without breaking the skin.

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Apple CEO Tim Cook (pictured) displays his personal Apple Watch to customers at an Apple Store on April 10, 2015 in Palo Alto, California. According to a new report he is trailing a wearable glucose monitor

THE PROJECT Apple has hired a team of biomedical engineers to develop non-invasive sensors which could detect diabetes and monitor blood-sugar levels. The engineers are expected to work at a nondescript office in Palo Alto, around 15 miles away from the new corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California. If the non-invasive sensors come to fruition, it would be a breakthrough moment for medical science. The late Apple CEO Steve Jobs envisaged the devices as another form of wearable technology, similar to a smartwatch or fitness monitor. Advertisement

Cook has been spotted trailing a prototype of the wearable device on the Apple campus, according to CNBC.

In February Cook told students at the University of Glasgow he was 'really excited' about its potential in health care.

'I've been wearing a continuous glucose monitor for a few weeks,' he told the students.

'I just took it off before coming on this trip', he said.

Sources suggests the company is already doing trials in the Bay Area.

The project - envisioned by co-founder Steve Jobs before his death - could lead to 'breakthrough' wearable devices that detect the disease and monitor blood-sugar levels.

Apple has hired a team of biomedical engineers as part of the secret initiative, according to reports in CNBC.

Up to 30 people are believed to be working on the project, which has be running for five years - according to CNBC's sources.

They say the firm has been carrying out clinical trials in San Francisco and has hired consultants to look into the rules and regulations around bringing such a product to market.

The engineers are said to be working from a nondescript office in Palo Alto, around 15 miles away from the new Apple corporate headquarters in Cupertino, California.

Apple has hired a team of biomedical engineers to develop non-invasive sensors which could detect diabetes and monitor blood-sugar levels (stock image)

The researchers have been tasked with developing bio-sensors to monitor blood sugar levels.

Currently this involves taking regular blood samples, which can involve anything from a thumb-prick test to intravenous extraction.

WHAT IS DIABETES Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs either when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or when the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar Hyperglycaemia, or raised blood sugar, is a common effect of uncontrolled diabetes and over time leads to serious damage to many of the body's systems, especially the nerves and blood vessels The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014 - the latest year for which global figures are available - according to the World Heath Organisation. Advertisement

The late Apple CEO envisaged the devices as another form of wearable technology, similar to a smartwatch or fitness monitors

And if the non-invasive sensors come to fruition, it would be a breakthrough moment for medical science.

'There is a cemetery full of efforts' to measure glucose in a non-invasive way, said DexCom chief executive Terrance Gregg, whose firm is known for minimally invasive blood-sugar motechniques.

To succeed would require 'several hundred million dollars or even a billion dollars,' he previously told Reuters.

The number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014 - the latest year for which global figures are available - according to the World Heath Organisation.

The news comes at a time when the line between pharmaceuticals and technology is blurring.

A secret new research project being undertaken by Apple could lead to new sensors to detect diabetes. For many, the condition is managed with daily injections (stock image)

Companies are joining forces to tackle chronic diseases using high-tech devices that combine biology, software and hardware.

This has jump-starting a new field of medicine called bio-electronics.

Last year, GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Google parent Alphabet Inc unveiled a joint company aimed at marketing bio-electronic devices to fight illness by attaching to individual nerves.

U.S. biotech firms Setpoint Medical and EnteroMedics Inc have already demonstrated some early progress of bio-electronics in treating rheumatoid arthritis and suppressing appetite in the obese.

Other companies exploring the technology include Medtronic Plc, Proteus Digital Technology, Sanofi SA and Biogen Inc.