Apple announced a new software framework called ResearchKit at an event on Monday that will allow patients to help medical researchers.

The company outlined how the new software will work alongside the iPhone and HealthKit to turn smartphones into a powerful diagnostic tool. ResearchKit will help researchers help learn more about diseases like Parkinson’s, diabetes, heart disease and asthma. The tool will be open source, so all developers will be able to start building for the platform today.

Apple’s Jeff Williams took to the stage to detail how the company has teamed up with experts from organizations like the University of Oxford and Penn Medicine to create a platform that will allow patients to participate in studies. Users can decide if they want to participate and which data they want to share.

For example, a Parkinson’s patient can take tests and perform tasks from researchers to help experts learn more about certain diseases. By saying “ahh” into an iPhone, patients will be able to record their symptoms via the software; because hundreds of millions of people already have an iPhone in their pockets, the tool could be help researchers better stay connected to patients.

Apple also announced that 900 apps have already been created with HealthKit to help users keep track and monitor their health in real time.

Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.