Apple Announces New ResearchKit Studies for Autism, Epilepsy, and Melanoma

Researchers from Duke University, Johns Hopkins, and Oregon Health and Science University present new medical studies with ResearchKit.

Researchkit shows its potential

Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), today announced that ResearchKit has enabled new research studies on autism, epilepsy and melanoma. ResearchKit turns iPhone into a powerful clinical research tool that helps clinicians, scientists, and other researchers collect participant data more regularly and accurately using apps on iPhone. With ResearchKit, study participants can contribute more easily than ever by giving their consent through an interactive process, completing tasks comfortably and answering questionnaires, and they can also choose how they want to share their data. Already many researchers and developers have contributed to ResearchKit, and more than 50 researchers have contributed to the open source software environment.

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"We are proud to work with renowned medical institutions and to offer them tools that will ultimately help customers lead healthier lives," said Jeff Williams, Apple's senior vice president of Operations. ”In just six months, apps based on ResearchKit who study all kinds of pathologies, from asthma and diabetes to Parkinson's, have provided information to scientists around the world, and more than 100.000 participants have already offered to share their data to help advance medical research and scientific. "

With the consent of the users, researchers conducting studies with ResearchKit They can also access information from the Health app such as weight, blood pressure, glucose levels and other data taken by third-party apps and devices to record them in real time from the iPhone. Access to the iPhone's accelerometer, microphone, gyroscope, and GPS sensors enables medical researchers to obtain more accurate data on participant movements, motor problems, physical activity, speech, and memory.

New ResearchKit Studies

Autism

Duke University and Duke Medicine to Launch "Autism & Beyond" Program for Concerned Parents autism and other developmental problems. The Duke research team is evaluating whether the iPhone's front camera can help detect symptoms of developmental problems at an early age. The app uses algorithms for detecting new emotions to analyze a child's reaction when watching videos on the iPhone. Duke University is working together with Peking University and other international collaborators to carry out this study.

"The Autism & Beyond program combines reliable screening questionnaires with a new technology that allows us to analyze children's emotions through videos, so that perhaps one day we can automate the detection of problems such as autism or anxiety," explained Ricky Bloomfield , Director of Mobile Technology Strategy and Adjunct Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Duke University. "ResearchKit allows us to incorporate a clinical study into a single app to reach many more people."

Epilepsy

The EpiWatch app developed by Johns Hopkins is the first study of its kind conducted with the Apple Watch and ResearchKit. This study will test the sensors of the Apple Watch to determine if they can detect the onset and duration of seizures. During the first phase of the study, the researchers will use a custom-developed Apple Watch complication so patients can tap into an app that captures accelerometer and heart rate data to record the seizure and send a notice to a family member. The app will keep track of all seizures and the participant's response when they occur. It will also help participants to manage their disease by keeping track of medication suitability and side effects, and to compare their health status with that of other study participants.

"The epilepsy it is a condition that affects more than 2 million Americans. This new app, designed with ResearchKit, includes interactive activities to help patients control their disease and will allow us to develop another app to detect various types of seizures and notify family members and caregivers ”, says Gregory Krauss, doctor and professor of Neurology at Johns Hopkins University of Medicine. "Now technology gives us the opportunity to monitor seizures from anywhere in the country and collect data in a whole new way."

Melanoma

The Oregon Health and Sciences University is studying whether digital images taken with the iPhone can be used to detect mole growth and the risk of melanoma, and thus help users monitor their skin symptoms by taking photos and measuring the size of their moles. Research participants will be able to document changes in moles and share them directly with healthcare professionals. For their part, the researchers will be able to capture images of thousands of iPhone users around the world to create algorithms that will be used for future melanoma detection studies.

”Early detection of melanoma is key. If we are able to diagnose melanomas early by helping patients share the images of their moles in a simple way, we can determine the progression of the disease ", explains Sancy Leachman, doctor and director of Dermatology and head of the Melanoma Research Program at the Knight Institute for Cancer. ”Increasing the study sample is essential to obtain the information we need. ResearchKit makes it easier for us because you only have to develop an app for the iPhone. "

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ResearchKit software environment extension

Researchers and developers using the open source environment continue to contribute to ResearchKit with new modules, active tasks and personalized surveys. The Active Task module enables researchers to collect more specific data for their studies by inviting participants to perform activities that are recorded by advanced iPhone sensors. The Initial Active Task modules include tasks to measure motor activity, physical exercise, cognitive processes and voice.

In just six months, more than 50 researchers have contributed active tasks to support new research methods, such as tasks to study audiometry to detect hearing loss, methods to measure reaction time through known stimuli for a response known, a test for walking for a specified time, the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test to measure the speed of information processing and memory functioning, and the mathematical puzzle of the Tower of Hanoi that is often used in studies cognitive. Other contributions to the ResearchKit software environment include support for the iPad, image capture, and the ability to add pie, line, and dot charts for more accurate information panels.

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More information at ResearchKit and existing studies in www.apple.com/en/researchkit. And for more details on how to access the open source software environment go to www.researchkit.org. ResearchKit studies are available in Austria, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

SOURCE | Apple Press Department


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