The Apple Research Kit: What Does It Mean For Clinical Trials?

Smartphones are ideal and convenient tools to collect data in fast-paced and dynamic environments, making them perfect for use in medical research. New mobile apps are being developed with ResearchKit, Apple’s open-source software framework that supports medical and health studies. Clinical trials, surveys, and studies of any size can be performed around the globe with objective data gathered directly through an iPhone or a synced wearable device. With the added ability to link with HealthKit, researchers can access relevant data for their studies, such as calorie counts, daily steps taken and heart rate. What if collected data could help doctors and scientists study and find treatments to diseases, such as asthma, breast cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s? ResearchKit allows for researchers to recruit participants for studies that are not limited to small regions, demographics or populations.