Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched a developer contest for researchers and technologists to submit proposals for its new Mood Challenge for ResearchKit, which seeks ideas for studies that will use the Apple platform to further the understanding of mood and how it relates to daily life.
ResearchKit is Apple's open source software framework that turns the iPhone into a medical research tool for doctors, scientists and researchers. By gathering data from participants across the globe, new studies could enable researchers to investigate mood through the study of both active and passive data.
RWJF said entrants can contribute mood developments to the open-source community and allow these submissions to be available for future ResearchKit studies. Participants are asked to submit contextual data, such as pollution, food access, weather, sleep and social connectedness – all of which contribute to mood.
"We know mood is one of the keys to health, but more can be learned about the relationship between mood and the many social and economic factors that affect it and our health," RWJF President and CEO Risa J. Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, said in a statement. "Platforms like ResearchKit have the potential to revolutionize how research is conducted, and we're launching this competition to help explore that."
[Also: Apple aligns with 23andMe to pull genetic data into ResearchKit]
The challenge will provide finalists with up to $500,000, expert mentorship and piloting opportunities. The New Venture Fund program is financed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and powered by Luminary Labs.
ResearchKit proposals will be accepted through May 22, 2016. Five semi-finalists will receive $20,000 each and have the opportunity to develop their proposals into app designs during the Virtual Accelerator, which includes an in-person boot camp to help with their design development.
After the Virtual Accelerator, two finalists will receive $100,000 and move to the Finalist Incubation and Testing phase, where teams can fully-develop their designs into prototypes. One winner receive $200,000 to continue development and submit to the design to the App Store.
Participants can submit a proposal and view complete challenge rules at MoodChallenge.com.
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Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com
