Nurse Mia Ross discusses the big-picture health benefits of wearing the Apple Watch and applauds healthcare’s newest friend.
The Apple Watch is not going to save anyone’s life, but its “Research Kit” software just may. “Research Kit” will allow medical researchers to use data collected from the Apple Watch to better understand certain illnesses and help create diagnostic tools so people can better manage their health conditions.
MPower is one example of these applications. MPower monitors the moment-to-moment movement and speech of Parkinson’s patients. With Parkinson’s Disease, symptoms vary day-to-day. Monitoring these dynamic changes has proven to be difficult. MPower will work with Apple Watch sensors to record any changes in speech and movement in real time. This information will provide valuable insight to better understand this enigmatic disease.
The beauty of science and innovation is that conclusions are supported by data. One of the biggest challenges in collecting medical data is an unwillingness for people to comply with lengthy surveys or strap on bulky devices. Most people do not want to be bothered, and rightly so. The Apple Watch may be an efficient, easy way to encourage participation in clinical trials and allow researchers to conduct low-cost experimentation with data.
Wearable healthcare technologies have been popular for years now (Fit Bit was founded in 2007), but no one has attempted to analyze the massive amounts of data collected. “Research Kit” is an attempt to use these pools of information for higher purposes. If you weren’t considering an Apple Watch before, does this change your mind? It certainly did mine.
You can read Mia’s SXSW Medtech post, which includes a solution for fighting Ebola, here.
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