Here’s how doctors will test Apple’s new patient tracking features

Apple briefly hinted last week that hospitals would soon try out HealthKit’s patient tracking technology, and we now know those experiments are going to work. According to Reuters, both Duke University and Stanford University are weeks away from launching trial programs that will let doctors monitor vital stats with patients’ permission. In the Stanford test, young Type 1 diabetes sufferers will carry both an iPod touch and a smart glucose meter to keep tabs on their blood sugar levels. There are fewer details surrounding Duke’s pilot, but it will track the blood pressure and weight of those with cancer or heart disease.

The projects are starting out small; Stanford’s initial effort will involve just two patients, for example. However, the hope is to expand the scope quickly if everything goes smoothly. Apple doesn’t appear to be taking any chances, either. Reuters understands that the tech giant is thinking about certifying HealthKit app providers to make sure that they don’t play fast and loose with your medical data, such as storing it insecurely or sharing it with marketers. It’ll be a while before your iPhone becomes a medical diagnostic tool, but the necessary groundwork is quickly coming into place.

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio/Video, Mobile, Apple

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Source: Reuters

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MacUpdate Offers 10 Apps for $49.99, Including Toast 12 Titanium and NoteBook 4 [Mac Blog]

A few times a year, MacRumors partners with MacUpdate to promote a Mac app bundle deal. MacUpdate’s current bundle, which was released this morning and is priced at $49.99, features 10 apps with a total retail value of $480 if purchased individually.

MacUpdate has created a video providing an overview of all of the apps included in the bundle:

The full list of apps included is as follows:

– Toast 12 Titanium ($99.99)
– NoteBook 4 ($49.95)
– Tonality Pro ($69.99)
– Scrivener 2.5 ($44.95)
– Bookends 12 ($59.99)
– Mac DVDRipper Pro 5 ($24.95)
– NetShade 6 ($45.00)
– iStat Menus 5 ($19.00)
– SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition ($19.99)

The first 8,000 buyers also receive Realmac Software’s digital scrapbooking app, Ember, which has a retail value of $49.99.

Buyers have the option to purchase an optional plug-in for Toast 12 Titanium to add the ability to copy and burn Blu-ray discs for an additional $9.99.

MacRumors is a promotional partner with MacUpdate. Bundle sales through links in this article benefit MacRumors financially and provide a way for readers to directly support this site.

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T-Mobile’s iPhone ‘Test Drive’ Program Upgrades: iOS 8 Soon, iPhone 6 Units Later

Several months ago, T-Mobile US launched an iPhone “test drive” program allowing users to test an iPhone 5s on the carrier’s network for seven days free of charge. The program helps users decide if T-Mobile’s coverage is satisfactory in the areas they frequent, and also gives users unfamiliar with the iPhone a free introduction to the platform.

With Apple ready to release new iPhone hardware and software, T-Mobile has informed Re/code that it will continue offering the program and plans to upgrade the test drive units to iOS 8 within days of its public launch this Wednesday. T-Mobile also has plans to begin offering iPhone 6 units through the testing program, but it will take some time for those to become available as supplies will be tight in the early weeks after release and they will unsurprisingly be prioritized for customer purchases.

“We don’t have a definitive timeline, but we do intend to switch over in future,” a T-Mobile spokesperson said. “There are a variety of factors that affect that timeline, (including) product availability.”

T-Mobile’s test drive program is one component of its ongoing “Un-carrier” initiative in which has sought to differentiate itself from the other major U.S. carriers. The latest piece of the program, unveiled last week, includes support for Wi-Fi calling and a partnership with inflight Internet service provider Gogo to allow T-Mobile customers to use text, picture message, and visual voicemail services on Gogo-enabled airplanes free of charge.

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Duke and Stanford Begin Patient Trials With Apple’s HealthKit Service

Duke University, Stanford University Hospital, and medical device manufacturers are working with Apple on patient trials involving Apple’s new HealthKit API, reports Reuters. Apple mentioned the trials in its recent September press event, but did not provide any details on the health parameters or patient groups being studied.

Speaking to Reuters, Duke University’s Ricky Bloomfield, internal medicine pediatrician and director of mobile strategy, confirmed the research institution will use HealthKit to track vital health parameters such as blood pressure and weight for patients with cancer or heart disease. iOS 8’s HealthKit API will gather this health-related information from a variety of sources and compile it so patients and doctors can easily view this information in one place.

“This could eliminate the hassle of getting data from patients, who want to give it to us,” said Bloomfield, “HealthKit removes some of the error from patients’ manually entering their data.”

Stanford Children’s Chief Medical Information Officer Christopher Longhurst confirmed that the research hospital will be monitoring Type 1 diabetes patients, who will be sent home with an iPod touch and instructed to enter blood sugar levels in between doctor visits. Two patients already are enrolled in the trial.

Besides doctors, medical device makers are interested in HealthKit, taking advantage of HealthKit’s ability to gather medical information from a device and share it with an iOS app. Apple already announced it has electronic health record software vendor Epic Systems as a HealthKit partner. Many other manufacturers, such as glucose monitor company Dexcom, are interested in HealthKit and are in talks with Apple and the FDA about adopting the technology.

Apple has made clear it views HealthKit as an important aspect of iOS 8 and upcoming devices such as the Apple Watch, in line with the company’s emphasis on enriching the lives of users through innovation in technology. That vision, however, will take some time to develop as Apple continue its own work and relies on partners to help support the effort going forward.

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Microsoft Acquiring ‘Minecraft’ Developer Mojang for $2.5 Billion [iOS Blog]

Microsoft today announced the acquisition of Mojang, the company behind the popular crafting game Minecraft. Both Microsoft and Mojang confirmed the Redmond company paid $2.5 billion for the gaming franchise in a deal expected to close in late 2014.

Microsoft bought Minecraft following the game’s success on the Xbox platform and PC, where it has logged over 100 million downloads since its 2009 launch. Though its financial interests are focused on the Xbox and Windows PC, Microsoft confirmed that Minecraft development will continue on all existing gaming platforms, including iOS, where Minecraft Pocket Edition [Direct Link] consistently ranks near the top of the paid app charts.

“Gaming is the top activity across devices and we see great potential to continue to grow the Minecraft community and nurture the franchise. That is why we plan to continue to make Minecraft available across platforms – including iOS, Android and PlayStation, in addition to Xbox and PC.”

As part of the deal, Mojang founders Carl Manneh, Markus Persson (Notch) and Jakob Porsér are leaving the company to work on new projects. The remaining team will continue to work at Mojang under the guidance of Microsoft, which expects to recoup its investment by the end of 2015.

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