iOS

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1. Introduction

The iOS SDK is split into three main components: VitalCore, VitalHealthKit and VitalDevices. VitalCore holds common components to both VitalHealthKit and VitalDevices. Among other things, it has the network layer that allows us to send data from a device to a server. As their name hint, VitalHealthKit and VitalDevices are an abstraction over HealthKit and specific Bluetooth devices. If your app is generating data independently, you can use VitalCore directly to push data.

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2. Installation

We use SPM (Swift Package Manager) to manage dependencies. You can add https://github.com/tryVital/vital-ios when adding it as a dependency to your project. Independently of using VitalDevices, or VitalHealthKit, make sure you always add VitalCore. The first two depend on the latter.

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3. Initial Setup

To use our SDK, start by setting up VitalClient:

import VitalCore

await VitalClient.configure(
    apiKey: "xyz",
    environment: .sandbox(.us)
)

There are two main topics you should be aware:

1. userId.
2. Connected source.

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1. userId

A userId serves as a unique identifier of your user in Vital. You create one by sending us an id representing that user in your system (e.g. white_bear, 12832001, b5d36dbe-b745-11ec-b909-0242ac120002, etc). We advise against the use of PII (Personal Identifiable Information). It should also be unique across the users that belong to your team. You can create a userId like this:

let result = try await VitalClient.shared.user.create(
    .init(clientUserId: "white_bear"),
    setUserIdOnSuccess: false
)

A userId is an UUID4. Once you have a userId, you need to set it:

await VitalClient.setUserId(result.userId)

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2. Connected Source

A connected source is a link between a provider (e.g. Omron, Strava, Fitbit, Garmin) and your user. When you post information, it is expected that a connected source exists for that user and the source of information you are using. If it doesn’t exist, the request will fail.

Example: You want to post Ben’s Omron data to Vital. Two things need to exist: 1) Ben is a user in Vital 2) A connected source linking Ben’s user to Omron.

To achieve this you can:

/// 1)
let ben = try await VitalClient.shared.user.create(clientUserId: "white_bear")

/// Remember that by default `user.create` calls `VitalClient.setUserId` interally.

/// 2)
let result = try await VitalClient.shared.user.createConnectedSource(for: .omron)

With these two things in place, you can now post Ben’s Omron data.

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4. VitalCore

For the most part, you won’t need to instantiate model objects. VitalHealthKit and VitalDevices will generate these models on your behalf. For VitalDevices in particular, you are responsible for sending the data explicitly via VitalClient.shared.<domain>. VitalClient allows you to do exactly that. VitalHealKit however will send the data automatically.

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1. TimeSeries and Summaries

There are two main sources of data: time series and summaries. Time series data correspond to points in time (e.g. glucose, heart rate, etc). Summaries are a digest of a particular resource (e.g. workout, sleep, etc). Summaries can have time series data. For example a workout has an array of heart rate data points. For data generated by VitalDevices, typically this will be time series.

For time series we support:

• Glucose
• Blood Pressure

For summaries:

• Workout
• Activity
• Sleep
• Profile
• Body

Posting time series data is as simple as:

let sample = QuantitySample(
    value: 10,
    startDate: .init(),
    endDate: .init(),
    type: "fingerprick",
    unit: "mg/dl"
)

try await VitalClient.shared.timeSeries.post(
    .glucose([samples]),
    stage: .daily,
    provider: .appleHealthKit
)

Likewise for summaries:

let workoutPatch: WorkoutPatch = ...

try await VitalClient.shared.summary.post(
    .workout(workoutPatch),
    stage: .daily,
    provider: .appleHealthKit
)

It’s important to notice a few things in the above snippet:

1. We set the stage of data as .daily. If you are sending old data, please use .historical instead. This distinction is used for the Webhooks. If you are not sure if .historical data makes sense, you can stick with .daily. A .daily will always generate a webhook with the full payload of data. For more information, please read the Webhook Flow.
2. The provider (.appleHealthKit) must match an existing connected source for that user. This means that if there’s no connected source linking the user and .appleHealthKit, the request will fail. By default the VitalHealthKitClient, will create a connected source on your behalf when pushing Apple HealthKit data.
3. Finally if you are generating your own fitness or medical data, use the .manual provider.

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2. Creating a Connected Source

The SDK provides two ways to create a connected source. The first method is a manual approach:

let userId: UUID = ...

try await VitalClient.shared.link.createConnectedSource(userId, provider: .omron)

The second method uses web authentication:

let url = try await VitalClient.shared.link.createProviderLink(redirectURL: "vitalExample://")

The redirectURL is the URL that’s called after the authentication is done. For an iOS app, you add the following to your Info.plist:

After having the url, you can open it with SFSafariViewController or WKWebView. On completion, your app will be called with an URL with the following shape:

1. On success: vitalExample://?state=success&isMobile=true&provider=<provider>.
2. On failure: vitalExample://?state=error&isMobile=true&provider=<provider>&error=<error description>.

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3. Clean Up

When logging out a user, you should call:

await VitalClient.shared.cleanUp()

If you are using VitalHealthKit, call this method instead.

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5. VitalDevices

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1. Bluetooth

VitalDevices connects your app to other devices via bluetooth. Currently we support glucose meters and blood pressure readers.

You start by fetching all devices supported:

import VitalDevices

/// Get the brands
let brands = DevicesManager.brands()

/// Each brand has devices
let devices = DevicesManager.devices(for: brands[0])

Based on the device, you start scanning your surroundings to find it. This approach filters out devices we are not interested in:

let device = devices[0]

let manager = DevicesManager()
let publisher: AnyPublisher<ScannedDevice, Never> = manager.search(for: device)

You can observe the publisher (e.g. via sink) until you find a device. Once you find a device you create a reader:

let scannedDevice: ScannedDevice = ...

if scannedDevice.kind == .bloodPressure {
    let reader: BloodPressureReadable = manager.bloodPressureReader(for: scannedDevice)
}

if scannedDevice.kind == .glucoseMeter {
    let reader: GlucoseMeterReadable = manager.glucoseMeter(for: scannedDevice)
}

Depending on the flow of your app, and/or the device you are working with, you can either just pair, or pair and read. The “just” pair is needed for devices that can only pair while in pairing mode. The devices we tested were able to pair and read while not in pairing mode, but your experience might be different.

For blood pressure monitors:

let reader: BloodPressureReadable = manager.bloodPressureReader(for: scannedDevice)

let justPair: AnyPublisher<Void, Error> = reader.pair(device: scannedDevice)
let pairAndRead: AnyPublisher<[BloodPressureSample], Error> = reader.read(device: scannedDevice)

And for glucose meters:

let reader: GlucoseMeterReadable = manager.glucoseMeter(for: scannedDevice)

let justPair: AnyPublisher<Void, Error> = reader.pair(device: scannedDevice)
let pairAndRead: AnyPublisher<[QuantitySample], Error> = reader.read(device: scannedDevice)

You can monitor the connection to the device via:

let monitorDevice: AnyPublisher<Bool, Never> = manager.monitorConnection(for: device)

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2. Freestyle Libre 1

We currently support Libre 1 sensors via NFC readings. Please make sure you add NFC capabilities in your app:

Also add the key NFCReaderUsageDescription in your info.plist. This key should explain why your app needs to use NFC.

To use the reader:

let reader = Libre1Reader(
        readingMessage: "Ready for reading",
        errorMessage: "Failed reading from sensor",
        completionMessage: "Completed successfully!",
        queue: mainQueue
    )


let reading = try await reader.read()

A reading is a payload with two properties: 1) the sensor information 2) an array of glucose readings.

let sensor: Libre1Sensor = reading.sensor
let samples: [QuantitySample] = reading.samples

As previously mentioned, you are responsible for sending the samples to the server. You can do so via VitalClient.shared.timeSeries.post.

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6. VitalHealthKit

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1. Quick Intro

VitalHealthKit is an abstraction on top of HealthKit that: 1) automates the extraction of data 2) automatically pushs that data to Vital.

You start by enabling HealthKit capabilities in your app. Please follow this guide. It should looks like this:

Also add the following key in your Info.plist:

<key>NSHealthShareUsageDescription</key>
<string>your description</string>

You then set-up the client:

import VitalHealthKit

await VitalHealthKitClient.configure(
    .init(
        mode: ..., // automatic by default
        backgroundDeliveryEnabled: ..., // false by default
        logsEnabled: ..., // false by default
        numberOfDaysToBackFill: ..., // 90 by default
    )
)

That’s it!

Just like VitalDevices, you need to configure the VitalClient at some point during your flow. Like this:

import VitalCore

await VitalClient.configure(
    apiKey: "xyz",
    environment: .sandbox(.us)
)

await VitalClient.setUserId(result.userId)

let result = try await VitalClient.shared.user.createConnectedSource(for: .appleHealthKit)

After this initial setup, you need to ask permission to acccess the user’s data:

let resources = [.profile, .body]
let outcome = await VitalHealthKitClient.shared.ask(readPermissions: resources, writePermissions: [])

After calling ask(readPermissions:writePermissions:), check the outcome to see if the user granted permission. On success, you can start syncing data:

import VitalHealthKit

let resources = [.profile, .body]
VitalHealthKitClient.shared.syncData(for: resources)


/// You can also sync all resources
VitalHealthKitClient.shared.syncData()

Although syncData() and syncData(for:) make your life easier, they can sometimes feel like a blackbox. To help you understand what’s happening under the hood, we expose an status: AnyPublisher<Status, Never>. A Status looks like this:

  public enum Status {
    case failedSyncing(VitalResource, Error?)
    case successSyncing(VitalResource, ProcessedResourceData)
    case nothingToSync(VitalResource)
    case syncing(VitalResource)
    case syncingCompleted
  }

You can observe and convey this information like this:

cancellable = VitalHealthKitClient.shared.status.sink { value in
    print(value)
}

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2. Writing Data

You can also write data for a limited set of resources. Just like for reading, you need to first update your Info.plist file:

<key>NSHealthUpdateUsageDescription</key>
<string>your description</string>

You then ask for permission for writing:

let readResources: [VitalResource] = [.water]
let writeResources: [WritableVitalResource] = [.water]
let outcome = await VitalHealthKitClient.shared.ask(readPermissions: readResources, writePermissions: writeResources)

Finally you are able to write data:

VitalHealthKitClient.shared.write(input: .water(milliliters: 1000), startDate: startDate, endDate: endDate)

Each type will hint you about its units. For example, water is in milliliters.

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3. Background Delivery

You can enable the SDK to deliver HealthKit data in background. This provides a more seamless experience, since the user doesn’t need to open your app to sync data. Start by enabling “Background Delivery” in the app capabilities:

Once this is done, you should setup the SDK like so:

import VitalHealthKit

VitalHealthKitClient.configure(backgroundDeliveryEnabled: true)

That’s the only thing you need to do! If you are using background delivery, you don’t need to call syncData:. Depending on the HKSampleType syncing, updates will come after a period of time.

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4. Clean Up

When logging out a user, you should call:

await VitalHealthKitClient.shared.cleanUp()

Internally this method will also call VitalClient.shared.cleanUp().

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5. Miscellaneous Information

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i) SDK configuration flow

Vital’s iOS SDK allows you to configure it in any order you wish. There are however two things to keep in mind:

1. You need to call VitalClient.configure, VitalClient.setUserId and VitalHealthKitClient.configure in order for data to be pushed to Vital.
2. You need to call VitalHealthKitClient.configure at application(_:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:), in order for background delivery to work properly.

From an implementation perspective, VitalHealthKitClient suspends all operations until both VitalClient.configure and VitalClient.setUserId are called. This means that it’s safe to configure VitalHealthKitClient before the VitalClient.

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ii) VitalHealthKit configuration

The VitalHealthKitClient can be configured with the following options:

• mode: Whether or not to automatically sync data. If in automatic, data is synced on your behalf. Otherwise, you are responsible for doing so. By default, this is automatic.
• backgroundDeliveryEnabled: Whether or not to enable background delivery. You need to enable this on the project settings besides passing true, otherwise the app will crash. If true as soon as configure is called, a sync is kicked off by default. This means you don’t need both autoSyncEnabled and backgroundDeliveryEnabled set to true. By default, this is false.
• logsEnabled: Whether or not to enable logs. Useful when debugging. By default, this is false.
• numberOfDaysToBackFill: Number of days to fetch data for. The first you configure the SDK, we will get X days of amount of data for the permissions you requested. By default, this is 90.

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iii) sync versus background delivery

If you are using background delivery, you don’t need to call VitalHealthKit.shared.sync. When you call VitalHealthKit.configure with backgroundDeliveryEnabled: true, the SDK will automatically sync data. Afterwards, it will periodically sync data when it’s available. You should call VitalHealthKit.shared.sync if you are confident that there’s new data available (e.g. your app is writting to HealthKit) and you want to sync immediately.

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iv) App with existing HealthKit permissions

As of version 0.4.6 we are syncing the following types:

/// Activity
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .stepCount)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .activeEnergyBurned)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .basalEnergyBurned)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .flightsClimbed)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .distanceWalkingRunning)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .vo2Max)!

/// Body
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .bodyFatPercentage)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .bodyMass)!

/// Profile
HKCharacteristicType.characteristicType(forIdentifier: .biologicalSex)!
HKCharacteristicType.characteristicType(forIdentifier: .dateOfBirth)!
HKQuantityType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .height)!

/// Sleep
HKSampleType.categoryType(forIdentifier: .sleepAnalysis)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRateVariabilitySDNN)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .oxygenSaturation)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .restingHeartRate)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .respiratoryRate)!

/// Workout
HKSampleType.workoutType(),
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .respiratoryRate)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate)!

/// Vitals(Heartrate)
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .heartRate)!

/// Vitals(glucose)
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .bloodGlucose)!

/// Vitals(blood pressure)
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .bloodPressureSystolic)!
HKSampleType.quantityType(forIdentifier: .bloodPressureDiastolic)!

If your app already asked for one, or more, of these permissions, we will try to sync it automatically. You don’t have to do anything. Keep in mind the following caveats:

1. For example, if the user gave permission for steps, we will try sync steps as part of an Activity. This means that this data is available via /summary/activity/ endpoint.
2. Types part of Vitals (e.g. heartrate, bloodGlucose), are treated as timeseries data, so they are available via the timeseries API: /timeseries/.

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v) Information flow

For most users, the SDK is configured with background delivery to true. Data is synced on your behalf and you don’t need to think about it. Eventually, to display the information back to an end-user, you make an HTTP request to a server. The data flow usually looks like this:

Apple HealthKit -> Vital SDK -> Vital Server -> Your Server <- User's app

You can bypass the above flow, by using VitalHealthKit.read(resource:startDate:endDate:). This is a static method that doesn’t require the SDK to be configured. This is a great option if you are only interested in Apple HealthKit data. You can still keep background delivery enabled, but read data from Apple HealthKit directly. The previous flow will then look like this:

/// Background, handled automatically by the SDK
Apple HealthKit -> Vital SDK <-> Vital Server -> Your Server

/// In the app
Apple HealthKit -> Vital SDK <-> User's app