iOS 8′s HealthBook Will Be Able To Analyze Your Blood
As we mentioned recently, after releasing the first major update to iOS 7, an update that introduces CarPlay, updates Siri, the iTunes Radio and the calendar and offers more accessibility options, such as the bold font option that now includes the keyboard, calculator, and many icon glyphs, the Reduce Motion option now includes Weather, Messages, and multitasking user interface animations, plus new options to display button shapes, darken app colors, and reduce white point. The update also tweaks the Operating System’s user interface and fixes the infamous home screen crash bug, adds improved Touch ID recognition, while introducing a new bug that rapidly decreases the battery life of your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.
What is even more interesting than the iOS 7.1 update, is the fact that a few days after its release, the first iOS 8 images leaked online on a Chinese web page and these images show the icons of some iOS 8 apps. Among them (a Preview app, a TextEdit app, and Tips app), is the icon for the Healthbook app which is rumored to be a very important part of iOS 8. The Healthbook app will be similar to the Passbook app when it comes to user interface. Passbook’s interface is made of a stack of cards that allow users to store different things such as coupons, boarding passes, event tickets, store cards, ‘generic’ cards and other forms of mobile payment. Healthbook’s user interface will be similar, only the stack of cards will represent health and fitness related activities.
When talking about the upcoming smartwatch from Apple, the iWatch, we said that one of its advantages over the competition could be represented by the biosensors that it is rumored to feature, which will allow the smartwatch to analyze the user’s blood. This would automatically make it double as a medical device as it could be used, for example, by diabetic population to analyze the glucose levels of the user’s blood. We also mentioned that the inclusion of a biosensor capable of analyzing the user’s blood is only an extrapolation based on the past work experience of some of the iWatch team members. We now have rumors that suggest the Healthbook app, in addition to monitoring fitness levels and heart rate, will also be able to monitor the blood oxygen levels, which, if true, would confirm that the iWatch would feature a biosensor capable of analyzing the user’s blood.
It seems that recreations of images showing the user interface of the Healthbook app, made their way online. As we mentioned above, the Healthbook app will feature an interface very similar to the of the Passbook app, based on cards. Cards have their own specific color and they represent different categories of features. SOme of these categories include bloodwork, heart rate, hydration, blood pressure, physical activity, nutrition, blood sugar, sleep, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation and weight. Of note is the bloodwork category, which will analyze the user’s blood sugar levels and blood pressure, being a very useful tool for people with diabetes.
We don’t know yet if the iWatch is going to use a third party device in order to analyze the user’s blood, or if it will have an integrated, dedicated biosensor for blood analysis. But given the latest leaks regarding the Healthbook app, it is now clear that the iWtach will indeed be able to analyze the user’s blood and it will work together with the Healthbook app to keep track of various factors (such as the blood pressure and blood sugar levels). The iWatch will also make use of the M7 motion co-processor (which debuted in last year’s high end smartphone from Apple, the iPhone 5S) in order to gather all the motion and fitness data that will be tracked and analyzed by the Healthbook app. It is also worth mentioning that the M7 motion co-processor has even been adopted by Fitbit, a major player in the fitness tracking industry.
Fitness Tracking
Healthbook will provide a wide range of fitness tracking functions. Among the cards seen in the recreated Healthbook screenshot, three are for fitness tracking: activity, nutrition and weight. The activity section handles steps taken, miles walked and burned calories, which represent the basic fitness tracking functions. There is also the weight category and it does exactly what you would assume from its name: it asks the user’s weight and height and based on them (and a whole lot of other factors) it calculates the user’s BMI (also known as the body mass index) and the body fat percentage.
The last category in the fitness tracking section, is Nutrition. This category will let the user enter his/hers daily food intake and organize and follow a diet. Based on the data the user inputs in the Healthbook app, it will track and make suggestions regarding your calorie intake and diet. Of course there are already third party apps that perform the same functions, but why not have it all in one single app. That is what Apple offers in regard to fitness tracking with its upcoming Healthbook app: activity, nutrition and weight monitoring will be included in the same app, running the same hardware.
All of these fitness tracing categories (activity, nutrition and weight) can be monitored during the course of a day, a week, a month and a year. As you would expect, there will be visual representations of the quantified data, in the form of graphs. These graphs will show your progress over a day, week, month and year. The combination of food intake monitoring and fitness tracking, via the same app (Healthbook) on the same device, represents good news for those of you that like to closely watch your current fitness level and how it is affected by your current diet. If you are one of these people, you may want to keep an eye out for the upcoming iWatch and iOS 8.
Bloodwork
Everyone gets their blood pressure and heart rate measured when visiting the doctor’s office. These two health related measurements can even be measured at home in this day and age; for example you can take your blood pressure at home, using a simple device you can buy at the pharmacy, while your hear rate can be measured even with a smartphone; there are many apps that use a smartphone’s camera to measure the user’s heart rate and the recently unveiled Samsung Galaxy S5 has a dedicated hear rate monitor sensor on its back.
Healthbook will be able to monitor and store data from the iWatch (and probably even the iPhone 6); the app will be able to measure your pulse in BPM (beats per minute) and it will also be able to track your blood pressure and stroe it in both forms: diastolic (minimum) and systolic (peak). As we mentioned above, the fifth Galaxy S is also able to track and store the user’s heart rate thanks to a dedicated sensor on its back; the upcoming Samsung Gear Fit is also able to track the user’s heart rate when used together with a smartphone; however, none of them can actually detect the user’s blood pressure. This is a feature unique to the upcoming Healthbook app and probably to the iPhone 6 and / or the iWatch.
But what is really interesting is the bloodwork category from the Healthbook app. As unique as being able to monitor the user’s blood pressure is (and it is quite unique for mobile devices, such as smartphones and smartwatches), the most unique feature of the Healthbook app (and allegedly of the iWtahc) is the ability to monitor the user’s blood. There are three blood tracking categories in Healthbook and they are Bloodwork, Oxygen Saturation and Blood Sugar.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any information about the bloodwork category so we can only speculate about its role. It may be similar to how bloodwork labs offer blood related data, such as tracking data points for liver function, kidneys etc. It may be similar to a blood report of a blood analysis result, though we don’t know for sure.
The two other two blood tracking related categories are oxygen saturation and blood sugar. Oxygen saturation is exactly what its name implies: the amount of oxygen that is present in the user’s blood. The Healthbook app will store the data as a percentage. Oxygen saturation is a factor in the quality of breathing and respiratory rate. Oxygen saturation can be measured regionally and non invasively, using pulse oximetry. When talking about the iWatch, we mentioned that Apple hired medical expert Michael O’Reilly last year in the Summer.
Michael O’Reilly previously worked at Masimo Corporation (“a global medical technology company that develops and manufactures innovative noninvasive patient monitoring technologies, including medical devices and a wide array of sensors“) as Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer. At Masimo, Michael O’Reilly worked on many devices, among which there is the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter. Masimo’s iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter can measure oxygen saturation and pulse rate during movement and it can also connect to your iPhone via a 30-pin dock connector (which is why it is only compatible with the iPhone 4S or below, but not with the iPhone 5 and higher, which uses a Lighting connector). Thus you can save and analyze the data that the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter records. You can watch a video of Masimo’s iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter here. The iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter is one of the products that Michael O’Reilly worked on at Masimo and it is not hard to believe the iWatch could perform the same function. Especially now that we know the Healthbook app has a section about ‘oxygen saturation’.
However, even more important the bloodwork and oxygen saturation categories, is the blood sugar category as it implies that iOS 8 devices will be able to monitor the user’s glucose levels. iOS 8 with the Healthbook app and the upcoming iOS 8 based iDevices from Apple will be very important for the people with diabetes. Globally, as of 2010, an estimated 285 million people had diabetes, with type 2 making up about 90% of the cases and by 2030, this number is estimated to almost double. These people need to track the glucose levels in their blood many times a day and they use blood checkers. Imagine how helpful would be an iDevice capable of non invasively tracking the user’s blood sugar and what it would mean for millions of people.
When we’ve told you about the iWatch team’s recent additions, you may remember that we mentioned Nancy Dougherty is now working for Apple, on the iWatch. Before joining Apple, Nancy Dougherty was the head of hardware development at Sano Intelligence, a company “building a revolutionary health monitoring product that will reveal new insights about stage zero care”. The company did not reveal what the product was, but on the company’s twitter address, you can find more information about Sano Intelligence’s product: a cheap patch that will analyze your blood (without being intrusive) and can send the results to any compatible device for monitoring. This is what Fast Company had to say about Sano Intelligence’s upcoming product:
The needle-less, sensor-laden transdermal patch is painless (I handled a prototype, which felt like sandpaper on the skin) and will soon be able to monitor everything you might find on a basic metabolic panel–a blood panel that measures glucose levels, kidney function, and electrolyte balance. Already, Sano’s prototype can measure glucose and potassium levels. There are enough probes on the wireless, battery-powered chip to continuously test up to a hundred different samples, and 30% to 40% of today’s blood diagnostics are compatible with the device. It’s cheap, too, with a materials cost of just $1 or $2 per sensor (each sensor has a seven day lifespan) thanks to an efficient manufacturing process that’s similar to what’s currently used to make semiconductor chips. The device isn’t waterproof yet, but Sano is working on it.
If the upcoming iWatch will include such a patch, it will be a very attractive feature for people with diabetes as it will help them monitor their glucose levels as many times as they need to. Google, via its Google X division, also has a similar product in research and development, the Google Contact Lens project which aims to assist people with diabetes by constantly measuring the glucose levels in their tears. While very different than Apple’s combination of Healthbook and iOS 8 based hardware, both companies will eventually improve the life of people with diabetes.
Hydration, Respiratory Rate Measuring and Sleep Tracking:
Two other categories from the Healthbook app’s recreated screenshot, are Hydration and respiratory rate. Hydration is very important for people that practice a sport and make a lot of effort. Such a measurement could alert people if their hydration levels are low and if they need to hydrate themselves. As we said, it is very good for people that practice a sport, but it could be useful for others too. As for respiratory rate, it reflects the amount of breaths per minute. This measurement can be done non invasively and if included in the next generation of iDevices, it will also be an important feature, not found in any other wearable mobile device on the market.
Healthbook will also function as a sleep tracker. There are already many sleep tracking apps on the App Store, most of them even free. However, Healthbook’s advantage is that it makes everything available from one location and it will connect with iDevices running the eighth iteration of iOS. We reported some time ago that Roy J.E.M Raymann, who previously worked at Philips Research, joined the iWatch team. Roy J.E.M Raymann is an expert on Sleep Research, Ambulatory Monitoring, Psychophysiology, Performance Measures, Thermoregulation, Circadian Physiology and Sleep Enhancement.
At Philips Research Roy J.E.M Raymann was project lead on Sleep and Thermoregulation and he also did research on sleep related activities. He also founded the Philips Sleep Experience Laboratory and worked as consultant for many projects (including light and performance, sleep and activity monitoring, etc). As you can notice, his work generally involves sleep research and monitoring. It will be very interesting to see what the Healthbook sleep tracking function offers over competing apps that offer sleep tracking. Of course, a sleep tracking solution integrated in a smartwatch will be more enticing for users than just buying a dedicated device, so maybe Apple is going for the Fitbit market.
As we mentioned there are many sleep tracking apps on the App Store but there are also many wearable devices that have a sleep tracking function. We mentioned the Fitbit series of wearable devices; they are basically fitness trackers that also offer sleep tracking functions. There are also fitness trackers from Jawbone and Nike that offer sleep tracking. These devices can be worn while sleeping and they will monitor the user’s sleep, determining the best hours of sleep and the most agitated.
These wearable devices also come with companion apps that store and analyze the sleep tracking data and then, based on it, they make suggestions regarding the best hours to get rest and when to wake up. Speaking of waking up, the devices also feature alarms to wake you up in the morning. As for the many sleep tracking apps on the App Store, such as Sleep Cycle and Sleepbot, they offer basically the same functions (with visual representation of the gathered data, per week, month and year), but they feature different sleep tracking algorithms. Considering the talent Apple hired for the upcoming iWatch and Healthbook app (J.E.M Raymann was project lead on Sleep and Thermoregulation at Philips Research) we expect both the Healthbook and iWatch’s sleep tracking capabilities to be among the best in the industry.
Other Features
Another very interesting category is the Emergency Card. This will be similar to a light medical record; well not exactly a medical record per se, just some important information about the user. In this category, the user will be able to enter his or her name, date of birth, medication information (if the user is taking any prescribed medication), weight (which can be updated of course), eye color, blood type, organ donor status, and location.
The Emegency Card category will also allow you to enter emergency contact info, for example a family member’s phone number. This could be useful in case you end up in an emergency as a doctor would be able to call a family member using Healthbook and the the Emergency Card category. We think that the Emergency Card information will be available from the iPhone’s lock screen. All this info will be useful when going to the doctor or in an emergency.
iDevices That Will Be Paired With Healthbook
It will be very interesting to see which of the upcoming iOS 8 based devices from Apple will be paired with the Healthbook app. That is if not all of the upcoming iOS 8 based iDevices will feature the Healthbook app in some capacity. While the app itself is able to track and measure a lot of fitness related parameters, it is not able to read them. We’ve mentioned the iWatch a lot, and that is because it is rumored to be released with a lot of biosensors that would be capable of measuring most of the data that Healthbook monitors. Besides, there are apps that can monitor your heart rate for example so it is possible that Healthbook may be able to work with third party apps that will provide it with health related parameters.
Besides, as you probably know, the Samsung Galaxy S5 will be released with a heart rate monitoring sensor and there is no reason why the iPhone 6 won’t feature one too, thus rendering the reliance on third party apps useless. Plus, the iPhone 5S already features the Apple M7 motion coprocessor which collects and processes physical activity data (such as steps and miles walked). However, for blood analysis data and even for other parameters, additional sensors will be required. We are not sure if both the iWatch and the iPhone 6 will include these biosensors, or if they will only be integrated in the iWatch. We will just have to wait and see.
There is also another options: using third party accessories, like Masimo’s iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter which can measure oxygen saturation and pulse rate during movement and it can also connect to your iPhone via a 30-pin dock connector (which is why it is only compatible with the iPhone 4S or below, but not with the iPhone 5 and higher, which uses a Lighting connector). However, an updated version may work with an iPhone that supports iOS 8 and thus you will be able to save and analyze the data that the iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter records in the Healthbook app. You can . The iSpO2 Pulse Oximeter is one of the products that Michael O’Reilly worked on at Masimo, before joining the iWatch team.
Between the upcoming hardware from Apple (including the iWatch which is rumored to feature a wide range of biosensors), the current gen generation hardware from Apple like the iPhone 5S and the iPad Air which feature the M7 coprocessor and the wide range of third party apps and hardware accessories that can measure your heart rate, oxygen saturation etc., there are plenty of sources for all the data that Healthbook will be able to analyze. Though it still remains to be seen what devices will be able to analyze the user’s blood.
