Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline is using the iPhone to conduct a clinical trial, the first drugmaker to do so, reports Bloomberg.
GlaxoSmithKline developed an app that uses Apple's ResearchKit to study the mobility and physical and emotional symptoms of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Participants in the trial will input their symptoms, and a guided wrist exercise uses the phone's sensors to record their motion.
ResearchKit allows developers and researchers to reach a wider candidate pool than before, as anyone with an iPhone can theoretically input necessary data and contribute to the research. What's more, it also is a cost saving measure.
"You've…taken out the site costs and the costs of having nurses and physicians explaining the studies to [participants] and recording information," Rob DiCicco, head of GSK's clinical innovation and digital platforms group, told Bloomberg.
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