Apple’s ResearchKit enables research studies for autism, epilepsy and melanoma
October 16, 2015
by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter
Apple announced yesterday that its ResearchKit, which turns the iPhone into a medical research tool, is allowing new research studies to be conducted on autism, epilepsy and melanoma. Since it was launched six months ago, over 50 researchers and more than 100,000 participants have contributed to the open source framework.
After receiving permission from the iPhone users, researchers have access to data from the Health app including weight, blood pressure, glucose levels and other data captured by third-party devices and apps. They also have access to the accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope and GPS sensor to gain information on the user’s gait, motor impairment, fitness, speech and memory.
Duke University and Duke Medicine are launching “Autism & Beyond,” which will evaluate whether the front-facing camera on the iPhone can be used to spot signs of developmental issues at a much younger age. Emotion detection algorithms will be used to measure the children’s reactions to videos on the iPhone.
Johns Hopkins developed the EpiWatch app, which uses wearable sensors including the Apple Watch to try to detect the onset and duration of seizures. The first stage of a study involving the app will allow the patients to record accelerometer and heart rate sensor data with one touch.
That data will provide insight into the digital signature of their seizure and then send an alert to a loved one. The app will record a log of the seizures and the patient’s responsiveness during the episode as well as help them track their medication adherence and compare their condition with other patients in the study.
Oregon Health & Science University is researching whether iPhone images can be used to find out more about mole growth and melanoma risks. Participants in the research study will document their mole changes and share them with health care professionals.
Researchers and developers that use ResearchKit are continually creating new modules, active tasks and custom surveys. The Active Task module allows the researchers to obtain more targeted data with the iPhone’s advanced sensors.
Over the past six months the researchers have developed tasks to study tone audiometry for hearing loss, reaction time through delivery of a known stimulus to a known response, a timed walk test, the speed of information processing and working memory, and a mathematical puzzle used for cognition studies.
“We’re honored to work with world-class medical institutions and provide them with tools to better understand diseases and ultimately help people lead healthier lives,” Jeff Williams, senior vice president of operations at Apple, said in a statement. “In just six months, ResearchKit apps studying everything from asthma and diabetes to Parkinson’s disease, are already providing insights to scientists around the world and more than 100,000 participants are choosing to contribute their data to advance science and medical research.”
After receiving permission from the iPhone users, researchers have access to data from the Health app including weight, blood pressure, glucose levels and other data captured by third-party devices and apps. They also have access to the accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope and GPS sensor to gain information on the user’s gait, motor impairment, fitness, speech and memory.
Duke University and Duke Medicine are launching “Autism & Beyond,” which will evaluate whether the front-facing camera on the iPhone can be used to spot signs of developmental issues at a much younger age. Emotion detection algorithms will be used to measure the children’s reactions to videos on the iPhone.
Johns Hopkins developed the EpiWatch app, which uses wearable sensors including the Apple Watch to try to detect the onset and duration of seizures. The first stage of a study involving the app will allow the patients to record accelerometer and heart rate sensor data with one touch.
That data will provide insight into the digital signature of their seizure and then send an alert to a loved one. The app will record a log of the seizures and the patient’s responsiveness during the episode as well as help them track their medication adherence and compare their condition with other patients in the study.
Oregon Health & Science University is researching whether iPhone images can be used to find out more about mole growth and melanoma risks. Participants in the research study will document their mole changes and share them with health care professionals.
Researchers and developers that use ResearchKit are continually creating new modules, active tasks and custom surveys. The Active Task module allows the researchers to obtain more targeted data with the iPhone’s advanced sensors.
Over the past six months the researchers have developed tasks to study tone audiometry for hearing loss, reaction time through delivery of a known stimulus to a known response, a timed walk test, the speed of information processing and working memory, and a mathematical puzzle used for cognition studies.
“We’re honored to work with world-class medical institutions and provide them with tools to better understand diseases and ultimately help people lead healthier lives,” Jeff Williams, senior vice president of operations at Apple, said in a statement. “In just six months, ResearchKit apps studying everything from asthma and diabetes to Parkinson’s disease, are already providing insights to scientists around the world and more than 100,000 participants are choosing to contribute their data to advance science and medical research.”