When accompanied by the right tools, mobile devices can abandon their consumer profile and become advanced systems with the potential to assist millions of people. Last March, Apple introduced its ResearchKit platform, which helps health experts collect data from volunteer participants. The next step is to convince users to share their DNA and accelerate studies of various diseases at the genetic level.
An Ambitious Platform
Sooner or later, every top-tier company looks to expand its horizons. We've seen this behavior in names like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and Amazon, but we should also add Apple to that list. Most of the time the Cupertino giant appears in the media because of one of its coveted products, but what brings us here today is ResearchKit. The official ResearchKit website describes this project as a framework that allows researchers and developers to create applications with medical studies in mind. From simple questionnaires to obtaining data using the device's sensors, ResearchKit offers a wide range of resources on what is already, on its own merits, a very rich ecosystem.
The Next Step: DNA Collection
One of the first applications based on ResearchKit, called mPower, managed to get thousands of users involved within days, and its main goal is to track symptoms consistent with Parkinson's disease. This highlights not only the reach of Apple devices, but also the possibility of completely transforming a laboratory study by incorporating thousands of remote participants. Now, ResearchKit seems ready to take a very bold step: the collection of DNA. If the user agrees, their contribution could help advance genetic studies, which are currently quite limited, mainly due to privacy concerns. Initially, Apple will not collect or test the samples; instead, it will be the responsibility of "academic partners", who will store all the information in a specialized cloud.
How Will DNA Samples Be Collected?
The big question is how the sample gets there. Spitting on the iPhone is not an option, so the idea is for the participant to receive a "saliva kit" and then send the material to a nearby laboratory, certified by Apple and other institutions involved. As with ResearchKit apps, DNA studies will need to be approved by both Apple and a qualified review board. Apple's key advantage is the enormous number of devices in circulation. In its last fiscal quarter, Cupertino sold nearly 75 million iPhones. If just 1 percent decided to participate, we'd be looking at a theoretical 750,000 volunteers, a number traditional studies can only dream of. Another question to consider is how useful the genetic information obtained could be for the end user. What could a sample of my DNA clearly communicate? What does an app need to present that data in a simple way, without forcing the user to be a scientist to interpret it? Questions that will be answered (or so we believe) over time.
