An executive hired to lead teams responsible for HealthKit, CareKit, and ResearchKit -- as well as related machine learning algorithms -- has left Apple after just a few months on the job, a report said on Friday.
Yoky Matsuoka was only hired in May and reported to Jeff Williams, the company's COO and its head of teams for the Apple Watch and various health initiatives, Bloomberg explained. The reason for the departure is unknown, as Apple has refused to comment and Matsuoka herself has stayed silent.
The executive is veteran of the technology industry though, with accomplishments like co-founding Google X, and helping to invent a robotic hand. Most recently she was a VP at Alphabet's Nest Labs, where she developed the technology that lets the Nest Thermostat automatically adapt to habits and conditions.
Apple has been building up its health teams for years, initially with the Apple Watch in mind, but more recently to expand its "Kit" platforms and embark in new directions. Earlier this year the company met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials to discuss things like "two possible (and related) products in the cardiac space" and a project involving Parkinson's disease.
Diagnosis is also thought to be a major interest of the company moving forward, with CEO Tim Cook suggesting that there should be a human equivalent of the "check oil" light on a car. Matsuoka may have been hired to help with these efforts.