Apple is looking to revolutionize medical research with the iPhone.
As part of its special event in California on Monday, the Cupertino tech giant announced ResearchKit, a software framework for iOS 8 designed to help doctors and scientists gather data more frequently and accurately using iPhone apps. The software essentially lets health and fitness apps communicate with each other, with your permission.
After you give the go-ahead, ResearchKit can access data from the iOS Health app such as your weight, blood pressure, glucose levels, and asthma inhaler use, which are measured by third-party devices and apps. ResearchKit can also request other information, such as your iPhone's accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope, and GPS sensors to monitor things like gait, motor impairment, fitness, speech, and memory.
The software should make it easier for researchers to recruit participants for large-scale studies, and access a more representative sample of the population — not just those within driving distance of a research facility, Apple said.
Participation in the research is voluntary; you'll decide which studies to participate in, and what data you want to offer up. As a participant, you'll also be able to complete tasks and surveys right from the app.
"iOS apps already help millions of customers track and improve their health. With hundreds of millions of iPhones in use around the world, we saw an opportunity for Apple to have an even greater impact by empowering people to participate in and contribute to medical research," Apple's Senior Vice President of Operation, Jeff Williams, said in a statement. "ResearchKit gives the scientific community access to a diverse, global population and more ways to collect data than ever before."
At its event, Apple showed off five ResearchKit apps from research institutions that cover studies for asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and Parkinson's disease.
One such app, dubbed Asthma Helath, was developed by the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and LifeMap Solutions to track asthma symptom patterns and potential triggers so researchers can learn new ways to personalize treatment.
Another app — called Share the Journey — aims to understand why some breast cancer survivors recover faster than others, why their symptoms vary over time, and what can be done to improve symptoms. The app, developed by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Penn Medicine, Sage Bionetworks, and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, will use surveys and sensor data to collect data on fatigue, mood, cognitive changes, sleep disturbances, and exercise.
Those five apps are available today, and Apple plans to release ResearchKit as an open-source framework next month.
Also today, Apple revealed a revamped MacBook, an Apple Watch launch date and prices, as well as an exclusive deal with HBO to be the launch partner for its new streaming service.