Smartphone applications ("app") are saturating the health care world in numerous and various ways. There is an app to track your sleep, one to track your heart rate, one to track steps and even one to measure your blood pressure. The prevalence of this technology is allowing consumers to utilize an inexpensive and convenient method for getting healthy and staying healthy. Now, iPhone users have the opportunity to become a part of groundbreaking research and sign up for medical research studies through an app on their iPhone. Last week, Apple announced that its new software, ResearchKit, will provide researches with a platform to develop apps that will be used for clinical studies.

This technology is the first of its kind and researches are extremely excited about the opportunities this software provides. The key component for any medical research is data, and this new software promises plenty of it. Currently there are over a million users of IOS software across the globe. Right now, the software is only available in the United States on the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the latest generation of iPod touches, so some critics worry that the sample size will necessarily be limited to those who can afford these devices. However, even though the studies are limited to iPhone users, that number is still larger than any number medical researchers have been able to reach before. Accordingly, the implications from these studies could be significant for health care providers and patients alike.

Originally published in Birmingham Medical News - April 2015.