Apple has conquered just about everything in its own sphere, so it makes sense that they're venturing into another industry to pursue success there as well. This time, they're seeking to encourage the technological advancement of the medical community and the tech giant is doing it through a brand new open source tool called CareKit.

Although their healthcare announcement inevitably took a back seat to more attention-grabbing headlines such as the new iPhone and iPad, it has the potential to only be the beginning of a fruitful new market.

Apple's New CareKit Platform

It's not easy to create a new direction for any company, but the edge of Apple is the iPhone's proven and growing market. During the "Loop You In" event on Monday, Apple launched CareKit, an open source software platform that they've created to let people develop their own health care applications. It's expected to go live as soon as April.

COO Jeff Williams introduced the new tool, which is also aimed to help people keep track of their health using their mobile devices.

The Fight Against Parkinson's

One of the apps is geared to help people suffering from Parkinson's disease. Developed by Sage Bionetworks and the University of Rochester, it allows the patients to track the progress and effectiveness of the drugs, therapy or exercise routines they are currently taking part of.

The data used in the creation of the app is from mPower, another app that collects health information from Parkinson's patients. MPower was developed through ResearchKit, another Apple software platform for scientists.

The CareKit software has also hosted the development of apps from a variety of other medical institutions such as a post-operation tracker from Texas Medical Center and a data-storing app using home monitoring devices from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Google's Also in the Race

Of course, Apple is not the only tech giant who is paving the way for healthcare advancement. Google's Verily, their health science arm, launched the Connectivity Bridge, which is a wireless gadget designed to collect and sync various medical data for people who are part of medical studies. The hub will be installed in patients' homes or medical facilities so that any new data can be immediately uploaded on cloud.

This newly announced connectivity bridge was approved by the FCC in September and a useful tool that will also be part of the Verily's Study Kit system of various devices and apps helping users to collect health data.