iPhone To Become Medical Research Tool With Apple ResearchKit

iPhone and Apple Watch users will be able to participate in medical and health research with the launch of the open source ResearchKit framework next month.

Apple says ResearchKit will make it easier for researchers to gain information and allow them to broaden their sample base across a whole population – not just those close to a medical institution.

Users will have to consent to share their data and can choose which information is collected from the Health app, such as weight, blood pressure, glucose levels and asthma inhaler use.

Apple ResearchKit

Permission can also be granted for researchers to access a device’s accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope and GPS sensors to gain further insights.

Participants can also complete tasks and surveys from within custom applications, so researchers spend less time dealing with paperwork. Apple has already collaborated with a number of medical institutions who have created apps for studies on asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases and Parkinson’s disease.

“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,” said Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of Operations. “ResearchKit gives the scientific community access to a diverse, global population and more ways to collect data than ever before.”

Health has been a major focus for Apple since the launch of iOS 8, which added the HealthKit and Health application after a few initial teething problems. Fitness is also a key component of the Apple Watch wearable, more details of which were revealed by the company earlier this week.

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