“The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 50 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “In this particular report we cover a surprise invention revelation.”
“Apple’s newly granted patent covers an invention relating to health data, and more specifically to an iPhone that computes health data,” Purcher reports. “In the future an iPhone user will be able to place their finger across the face side camera and obtain health data. According to Apple, ‘electrical measurements may be used to measure heart function, compute an electrocardiogram, compute a galvanic skin response that may be indicative of emotional state and/or other physiological condition, and/or compute other health data such as body fat, or blood pressure.'”
“The electronic device may use one or more of the camera and the proximity sensor to emit light into a body part of a user touching a surface of the electronic device and one or more of the camera, the ambient light sensor, and the proximity sensor to receive at least part of the emitted light reflected by the body part of the user,” Purcher reports. “The electronic device may compute health data of the user based upon sensor data regarding the received light. In some implementations, the electronic device may also include one or more electrical contacts that contact one or more body parts of the user. In such implementations, the health data may be further computed based on an electrical measurement obtained using the electrical contacts.”
Read more, and see Apple’s patent application illustrations, in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple obviously continues to lay the foundation for a broader move into healthcare.
One of the biggest issues in healthcare in the U.S. today is that there is no “Quartberback” – someone running the effort, coordinating the various specialists, making sure everyone is on the same page with the treatment plan(s), drug interactions, allergies, etc. A “playbook” showing the full picture of the patient’s health data would be very useful – and let the disparate medical personnel each quarterback on their own. Hopefully, Apple can step in, build, and fulfill this need with the company’s vaunted security and privacy. — MacDailyNews, August 22, 2016
SEE ALSO:
Apple working with start-up on iPhone Electronic Health Records plan – June 19, 2017
Apple’s profound iPhone plans for healthcare – June 15, 2017
Apple acquires Gliimpse – August 22, 2016
Apple rehires Flipboard co-founder Evan Doll to develop health software – August 12, 2016
Apple working on all-new, advanced health-tracking hardware; years in the making – August 9, 2016
Tim Cook hints Apple might build a health device – November 10, 2015
Apple’s Tim Cook declares the end of the PC and hints at new medical product – November 10, 2015
Apple announces new ResearchKit studies for autism, epilepsy and melanoma – October 15, 2015
GlaxoSmithKline working on integrating Apple’s revolutionary ResearchKit into clinical trials – July 13, 2015
ResearchKit, Apple’s medical data experiment, explained – May 20, 2015
Apple announces ResearchKit available today to medical researchers – April 14, 2015
Why Apple’s ResearchKit signals a golden age for health care – March 28, 2015
ResearchKit: The inside story of how Apple’s revolutionary medical research platform was born – March 19, 2015
Apple’s open source ResearchKit will change the world for the better – March 9, 2015
Apple debuts ResearchKit, giving medical researchers the tools to revolutionize medical studies – March 9, 2015
Or just buy a Samsung NOW which already has a HR and OX sensors.