John Moore/Getty Images

A medical assistant checks a patient's blood pressure. A new heath project, called the Health eHeart Study, will use sensors and other devices to gather data on things like blood pressure to better understand heart disease

Researchers in California are launching a major study that hopes to gain a lot more information about heart disease, but they won't be conducting clinical trials in a lab. Instead, they'll be using, among other things, your smart phone.

The project, called the Health eHeart Study, will use apps, sensors and other devices to gather data on things like blood pressure, physical activity, diet and sleep habits. 

The hope is that they will develop new and more accurate ways to predict heart disease