Apple Continues to Snatch Biomedical Talent, Fuelling iWatch Rumours

Apple’s team of biomedical and sensor experts is growing. The hires have captured attention in light of possible iWatch capabilities, as these people are said to be working on the forthcoming wearable product. On top of the already-known hires, NetworkWorld has found that the iPhone maker has made another important hire in the biosensor field in the person of Marcelo Lamego.

Lamego joined Apple this year, leaving his CTO position at Cercacor, where he helped develop non-invasive patient technologies such as the Pronto-7, a medical device that measures a patient’s oxygen saturation and haemoglobin levels, and pulse rate.

While at this point it is unclear what position Lamego holds at Apple, it is worth mentioning that he is one of the biomedical experts who joined the company (2 months at Apple, according to his LinkedIn profile). All these hires have something to do with the iWatch, the sources say. The team working on the smartwatch has surpassed 200 people, MobiHealthNews reported earlier this week.

But Lamego isn’t the only iWatch-related hire, NetworkWorld has uncovered: Last year, Nima Ferdosi, an Algorithms Architect, also joined Apple from Vital Connect — the same company that Ravi Narasimhan comes from.

Another Vital Connect employee that could become part of the iWatch team is biomedical engineer Alexander Chan, who currently works at a “technology company” in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Now, in terms of iWatch features, the rumour mill has spilled contradictory information: 9to5Mac originally reported that the smartwatch would sport advanced sensors that measure hydration and glucose levels, but another report from MobiHealthNews has spilled cold water on that, saying the wearable device will focus on basic health parameters.