We’re mid-stream at Apple’s ‘Spring Forward’ Keynote and whilst the elusive wearable we’re all waiting for still hasn’t re-emerged on stage, Tim Cook and co took a few seconds to detail the company’s new initiative, ResearchKit.
The new infrastructure has been designed play nice with Apple’s existing HeathKit toolset and should give greater control to both healthcare professionals and patients who are happy to slot Apple hardware and software in the middle.
The company has already partnered up with health researchers from Oxford University, to Massachusetts General Hospital and at launch five ResearchKit apps will be available. The current lineup covers breast cancer, asthma, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and cardiovascular disease.
Apple made it clear that with regards to privacy, users have the ability to opt in or out of which pieces of personal health information are shared. Examples included a Parkinson’s test that requires the user to rapidly tap the screen of their iOS device and an analysis carried out, simply by saying, ‘Ahhhhh’.
Releasing is set for next month, but the five launch apps are already available, starting today and we’ll no doubt see a ton more once ResearchKit makes its official debut.
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