San Francisco-based startup Rune Labs on Monday said it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to use the Apple Watch to monitor tremors and other common symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease.
The Rune Labs software uses the motion sensors built intothe Apple Watch, which can already be used to detect when aperson falls. Rune Labs Chief Executive Brian Pepin told Reuters in an interview the Apple Watch data will be combined with data from other sources, including a Medtronic implant that can measure brain signals.
Rune Labs’ goal is for doctors to use the combined data todecide whether and how to fine-tune the patients’ treatment, an approach called precision medicine. At present, Pepin said, most doctors have to gather data on a patient’s movements by observing the patient during a short clinical visit, which isnot ideal because Parkinson’s symptoms can vary widely overtime.
The Apple Watch will give doctors a continuous stream ofobservations over long stretches, Pepin said.
“When you think about the process of getting someone totheir optimal therapy or combination of drugs or devices, oreven whether or not a patient might be a good fit for certainclinical trial, it’s a very hard decision to make when you onlyhave a little context,” Pepin said.
The Rune Labs FDA clearance is the first prominent use ofsoftware tools that Apple released for measuring movementdisorders in 2018.
Last year, a group of scientists at Apple published a studyin the journal Science Translational Medicine showing the device was effective at monitoring Parkinson’s symptoms. After contacting Apple about the tools, Pepin said “it took about eight minutes for the team lead to get back to me and say, ‘Hey, perfect, let’s explore this.’”
Apple has partnered with a range of other companies to usethe Apple Watch as a health monitoring device, including a deal with Johnson & Johnson