Apple announced ResearchKit at its special event in March, as an open framework that could be employed by scientists and medical research to gather data for studies. It has now opened ResearchKit up to all medical researchers, doctors and scientists and the app developers working with them.
It collects data from patients via the iPhone. People with certain conditions can opt in to participate in various clinical studies and surveys (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.) that can be evaluated and analyzed by medical researchers. The goal is to ultimately improve patients’ health and the ability to care for them. ResearchKit launched with apps aimed at studying asthma, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease, but now scientists can develop programs that gather information about other medical conditions.
More than 60,000 iPhone users have enrolled in the first few weeks of its launch. Apple is now opening up the framework to anyone that wants to integrate ResearchKit into their own apps and studies. To do so, developers will add a specific Apple code into the back end of an app. The move will allow medical researchers worldwide to collect more data about diseases on a larger scale. For those interested in participating in research, the app will ask for permission to access iPhone sensors like the accelerometer, gyroscope and other tools as a way to monitor activity. Participants can also opt in to share details about weight, blood pressure and glucose levels, so researchers can more closely examine how those relate to conditions and overall health.
Mhealth has taken a lead in the app development , The team at Pocket App have been involved in mobile health solutions for over 10 years, launching the UK’s first mobile health product – Pocket Doctor – in 2001.
If you have a mobile health requirement, drop us an email on mhealth@pocketapp.co.uk – we would love to help out.
