(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc.'s new ResearchKit software platform turns the iPhone into a diagnostic tool drawing medical data from millions of potential customers, creating a boon for researchers and a headache for privacy advocates.
With iPhone users' permission, Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL) will be able to take data gleaned from its Health app and share it with doctors and scientists to use in medical research, said Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook at an Apple event Monday in San Francisco. The information could include user's weight, blood pressure and activity levels, as well as information on diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, asthma and breast cancer.
Apple's apps "already help millions of customers track and improve their health," said Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of operations, in a statement. "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."
See also: To your good health: Delivering iValue.
ResearchKit joins health-tracking technology tools such as Fitbit Inc.'s wristwear that can generate reams of data on people's health and activity levels. While researchers are enthused about having access to such information culled from a diverse population, privacy advocates are concerned the information could be tied to individual users.
As the iPhone's technology has advanced, the data it can capture on its users' activity has gone far beyond the basics, like the number of steps a user has taken in a day. Researchers will be able to ask for access to the accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope and GPS sensors in the iPhone "to gain insight into a patient's gait, motor impairment, fitness, speech and memory," Apple said in its statement.
Using separate devices made by other companies, the iPhone can also gather information such as glucose levels and asthma inhaler use.
FTC meeting
Apple executives met with at least two U.S. Federal Trade Commission staff members and Chairwoman Edith Ramirez last fall to demonstrate the Apple Watch and Health app, Bloomberg reported in January.
