Clinical trials and healthcare as a whole are being transformed by new technology. It’s essential for clinical trial sponsors to be aware of the new options available to them, and to utilize these new innovations which could improve both ease and results.

Voice Assistants

Voice assistants have been on the rise, but things like Hello Google and Alexa aren’t just being used in private homes. Their use is also being investigated by research teams as a way to help improve patient engagement and enrollment.

It has the potential to both improve convenience and improve the robustness of data. It could be used for initial screening, recording assessments, patient reminders, acting as a medication diary, and coordinating appointments. Patients could answer researchers questions and the tracking mechanisms could improve adherence.

Study-Specific Patient Portals

Patient portals for specific clinical studies could also become commonplace in the medical field. As humans, we want things on demand. This is especially true for our medical information. We want fast, accurate, and transparent information about our health status. And we want it at our fingertips.

These portals may include-

• Summaries from patient visits
• appointment reminders
• Reimbursement information
• Educational resources (including videos)
• General study updates
• A messaging portal where patients can communicate directly with trial staff 

Ultimately, the hope is that these portals will provide patients increased access to the trial they are participating in, which will help them feel more connected to the research. In turn, this will make them more engaged, improving adherence to the trial protocol and desire to be a full and active participant.   

Wearable Devices

Wearable devices are another new technology which could transform the healthcare field. Also aiding in the easy access of individual’s health data, these devices can be life changing for patients who have symptoms that are difficult to track. Some of these devices include the Apple Watch and the fit bit. Devices like these are starting to be incorporated in clinical trials, aiding in the real-time collection of health data remotely, as patients are living their normal daily lives.

Data may include sleep and heart rate as well as active activity. Sleep, for instance, is something patients would never be able to track accurately on their own. Not only does this improve the accuracy of data being collected, it may reduce the amount of in-person appointments patients have to attend, improving their quality of life as a whole.

These devices are still in the early stages of development. The goal is to create disease-specific devices (such as for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease) which can measure the precise symptoms different conditions present.

Read the source article at Biotech and Pharma Industry News.