U-M launches health study using Apple Watch

Author | Kara Gavin

Consumers are increasingly turning to wearable devices to learn more about everything from their heart rate to sleep quality. Yet, the question remains: what can all of this data tell us about people’s overall health?

The University of Michigan has launched a study to discover if data collected on Apple Watch, combined with other health information, can provide insight into health, wellness, and disease.

“This study is a unique opportunity to work with patients to gain insight into their daily and overall health status, providing a wealth of data that can be used for research that benefits everyone and advances health care,” says Marshall S. Runge, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president for medical affairs and dean of the U-M Medical School.

The three-year study, called MIPACT (Michigan Predictive Activity and Clinical Trajectories), is already underway, with 1,000 participants enrolled. It aims to enroll thousands more patients of Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center, over the next year. 

The resulting data will be made available to participants and researchers who are studying health information, daily activity, wearable signals, and participant-reported quality of life with an eye toward an improved understanding of wellness and disease. Apple is collaborating with U-M to conduct this study and a subset of the data will be available to Apple researchers.

“Michigan Medicine and Apple are focused on participant data privacy and security, and we take our responsibility seriously. We’ve even implemented several new systems to maximize privacy and security,” states MIPACT study lead Sachin Kheterpal, M.D., M.B.A., Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at the Medical School.

Kheterpal adds: “With the breadth of scientific expertise at the University of Michigan, we are uniquely positioned to explore how to integrate knowledge gained across participant surveys, medical records, wearables, genomics, and lab tests to better understand daily experiences and long-term health, while ensuring safe use of this information.”

MIPACT is built upon experience gained from the enrollment of 60,000 participants over the last six years of the Michigan Genomics Initiative, part of Precision Health at the University of Michigan, as well as the infrastructure of the Michigan Institute for Clinical & Health Research.

 

Disclosure: Some of the researchers involved in this study have held stock in Apple, may continue to do so, and may purchase or sell stock during the study period. These researchers are not likely to personally benefit from the results of this research.

Media Contact Public Relations

Department of Communication at Michigan Medicine

[email protected]

734-764-2220

Featured News & Stories Woman poses with her family and after her college graduation
Health Lab
Clinical trial aims to treat HPV, cervical lesions without surgery
Patients can now enroll in a clinical trial to test a groundbreaking nonsurgical treatment for cervical lesions that affect nearly 300,000 women in the United States every year.
Health Lab
Positive outlook propels woman through heart failure and on to a new heart
After seven years of waiting, a Michigan woman celebrates a lifesaving heart transplant and recovery close to home
Health Lab Podcast in brackets with a background with a dark blue translucent layers over cells
Health Lab Podcast
Managing Chronic Pain for Patients with Long COVID
Therapies for pain conditions like fibromyalgia provide clues for helping those with long COVID.
Go Blue and Beyond
News Release
The wait is over: graduating medical students find out what’s next at Match Day
The wait is over: graduating medical students find out what’s next at Match Day
Enlargement of microscopic HIV virus cells
Health Lab
Researchers open new leads in anti-HIV drug development, using compound found in nature
Researchers open new leads in anti-HIV drug development, using a compound found in nature
Health Lab
Fitness instructor, backpacker returns to active lifestyle after years of pain from endometriosis
Woman seeks answers for painful periods, leading to the discovery of endometriosis, large ovarian cysts, organ inflammation and appendix cancer