To complement its mobile health app HealthKit, Apple introduced software to give health professionals and researchers access to data created by iPhone users.
The software framework, called ResearchKit, allows users to sign up to participate in medical research and use their iPhones as diagnostic tools. ResearchKit will allow users to download particular applications targeted at particular conditions, such as asthma or Parkinson's disease, according to TheNextWeb.
Clinical research studies often fall short of conclusive results because of the lack of ability to reach participants. Apple intends to offer ResearchKit as a way to change how clinical studies are conducted. To protect privacy, Apple representatives said they will never see the participants' data, according to the report.
Apple currently plans to make the software open source to allow others to build on it, but advances will be forthcoming, according to the report.