Stanford Announces New Program to Discover 'Innovative Uses' for Apple Watch in Healthcare

Stanford University has opened up submissions to faculty members for an Apple Watch Seed Grant, an inaugural program "focused on innovative uses of the Apple Watch in healthcare" (via Cult of Mac). The program is designed to "stimulate and support" the creation of new uses for the Apple Watch in the healthcare field, an area that Apple has long been a proponent of since the wearable launched in 2015.

In total, up to 1,000 Apple Watch devices will be offered through the seed grant program, which is being given $10,000 in funding and run through Stanford's all-new Center for Digital Health within the School of Medicine. The CDH's proposal notes mention that while 1,000 Apple Watches will be given out in total, depending on the project proposals that get accepted, a higher or lower allocation of devices may be provided.

apple-watch-activity-workout
Submissions are open to a select group of Stanford faculty members and close February 26, while the study as a whole will run for one year beginning April 2017. The goal of the program is to use either the Apple Watch's activity tracking or communication features to see how the device can make a change in healthcare:

"The Apple Watch must be integrated into an overall program or study design where: 1) the sensing capability of the Watch (activity, heart rate, and/or raw accelerometer data) is used to measure the progress of an endpoint relevant to the study population; or 2) the communication/notification features of the Watch are used to drive behavior change/coaching (investigators must use an iOS app with a Watch app extension or design a workflow where push notifications can be delivered to the Watch).

The Apple Watch has been a representative of Apple's push into health initiatives for nearly two years now, from the debut of the original device and the Activity Rings in 2015 to the announcement of the fitness-focused Apple Watch Series 2 last September. The Apple Watch is just one part of Apple's health initiatives, however, which consists of the Health app, HealthKit and CareKit, and a collection of company acquisitions and talent hires that highlight its desire to merge health and wellness with technology.

On the eve of the Apple Watch's launch Apple CEO Tim Cook described services like ResearchKit and the Health app as "significantly underestimated" sections of the technology market. When asked about the "next frontiers" in product development, Cook described health initiatives, and all of the progress made by Apple to provide detailed analysis of a user's well-being, as "the biggest one of all."

Related Roundup: Apple Watch 11
Buyer's Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)

Popular Stories

iOS 26 Battery Glass Feature

iPhone 16 Pro Max 80% Charge Limit: One Year Later, Was It Worth It?

Wednesday September 24, 2025 3:58 pm PDT by
With the iPhone 15 series, I did an experiment and kept my iPhone's Charge Limit set at 80 percent for an entire year. It provided an interesting look at the impact of charge limits on battery longevity, so I decided to repeat it for the iPhone 16 line. Since September 2024, my iPhone 16 Pro Max has been limited to an 80 percent charge, with no cheating. As of today, my battery's maximum...
Home Hub Command Center with Dome Base Feature

Apple Working on All-New Operating System

Thursday September 25, 2025 1:11 pm PDT by
Apple is developing an all-new operating system codenamed "Charismatic," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple smart home hub concept based on rumors This is likely Apple's long-rumored "homeOS" operating system. In a report last month, Gurman said both Apple's rumored smart home hub in 2026 and tabletop robot in 2027 will run the new operating system. He said the software platform ...
AirPods Pro 3 Newsroom

Apple's 'Back to School' Offer Ends Soon, Now Applies to AirPods Pro 3

Wednesday September 24, 2025 7:20 am PDT by
Apple's annual "Back to School" promotion for students ends soon, so act fast if you want to score free AirPods with the purchase of an eligible new Mac or iPad. Until Tuesday, September 30, college students and qualifying educational staff in the U.S. can receive free AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation when they purchase an eligible new Mac or iPad from Apple. This is a $179 value. ...
iPhone 17 Pro Colors

Skipped the iPhone 17 Pro? Here's What is Rumored for iPhone 18 Pro

Tuesday September 23, 2025 8:55 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are still a year away, there are already a few rumors about the devices that offer an early look ahead. Below, we have recapped some of the early iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. This story was published previously, and it has been updated to reflect the latest rumors. Many early rumors prove to be true, but nothing is confirmed yet, and Apple's...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.1 Update for iPhones Coming Soon — Here's What to Expect

Thursday September 25, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple is preparing to release iOS 26.0.1, according to a private account on X with a proven track record of sharing information about future iOS versions. MacRumors has also seen evidence of iOS 26.0.1 in its visitor logs in recent days. It is likely that iOS 26.0.1 will fix a camera-related bug on the new iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Pro models. In his iPhone Air review, CNN Underscored's...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.1 Beta 1

Monday September 22, 2025 12:44 pm PDT by
Apple released the first beta of iOS 26.1 today, just a week after launching iOS 26. iOS 26.1 mainly adds new languages to Apple Intelligence, but there are a few other features that are worth knowing about. New Apple Intelligence Languages Apple Intelligence is now available in Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Portuguese (Portugal), Swedish, Turkish, Chinese (Traditional), and Vietnamese. AirPo...
apple tv 4k new orange

Next Apple TV Expected to Launch This Year With These New Features

Monday September 22, 2025 10:00 am PDT by
The next Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Likely Features N1 Chip With Wi-Fi 7 Last year, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the next Apple TV would be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, which is...
Apple More Personal Siri Ad

Apple Responds to U.S. Class Action Lawsuit Over Delayed Siri Features

Friday September 26, 2025 6:57 am PDT by
In March, Apple delayed the launch of its personalized Siri features, and soon after the company was hit with multiple class action lawsuits over the situation. The plaintiffs said they never would have purchased an iPhone 16, or would have paid less, had they known Apple's marketing about the Siri features was false. In the U.S., all of the complaints were consolidated into one class...

Top Rated Comments

HappyDude20 Avatar
114 months ago
Tim Cook's quote, "Significantly Underestimated" is quite accurate.

Do not forget that the Apple Watch is still in its infancy and there are far more accurate heart rate monitors in the market that connect to iOS.

I love my Apple Watch but do not forget that it's a fashion accessory first and an accurate monitoring device third.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dominiongamma Avatar
114 months ago
Tim Cook's quote, "Significantly Underestimated" is quite accurate.

Do not forget that the Apple Watch is still in its infancy and there are far more accurate heart rate monitors in the market that connect to iOS.

I love my Apple Watch but do not forget that it's a fashion accessory first and an accurate monitoring device third.
Mine is a health device only I use to work out and helps me stay motivated lost already 10 pounds. It's not even an fashion accessory to me at all.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kemal Avatar
114 months ago
New band colors to level your mood. Lithium orange would be nice.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NT1440 Avatar
114 months ago
Tim Cook's quote, "Significantly Underestimated" is quite accurate.

Do not forget that the Apple Watch is still in its infancy and there are far more accurate heart rate monitors in the market that connect to iOS.

I love my Apple Watch but do not forget that it's a fashion accessory first and an accurate monitoring device third.
As of last year, it's clearly a health device first (Note: NOT A MEDICAL DEVICE). There was not a peep about fashion at the unveiling of Gen2 in comparison to the huge amount of time devoted to the health tracking updates they outlined.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dantastic Avatar
114 months ago
It really is a solution looking for a problem.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HappyDude20 Avatar
114 months ago
Mine is a health device only I use to work out and helps me stay motivated lost already 10 pounds. It's not even an fashion accessory to me at all.
That's great. I'm glad to say I've been so much healthier having the Watch too, but m daily caloric readings are way off. Some days in at 1,500 calories and other days I'm at 2,500 calories or 600 calories. And it's all because of whether I want to devote the battery life to having the green lit sensor on during my walks and runs or if I don't create a workout at all. Fortunately the watch calculates walks regardless if I start a workout in the native app or a third-party app but there is so much variance.

Not to mention the I have two iPhones and The SE doesn't track steps like the 7 does. Plus I discovered that steps are not counted on my SE when I'm walking and using the phone, which is not the case with the 7. It'll count steps when I'm waking and browsing safari.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)