Introduction
Clinical research is at a turning point. The next few years will see a wave of new therapies and technologies that are changing the face of clinical trials. Say’s Dr. Francene Gayle, these changes will require greater collaboration between academia, industry and patient organizations if we are to make the most effective use of these new therapies and technologies.
Artificial intelligence will usher in a new era in clinical research
AI will usher in a new era in clinical research.
It’s no secret that AI is transforming every aspect of our lives, including medicine. The technology can be used to predict patient outcomes, drug efficacy and adverse events, as well as the best dose or patient population for a given drug. It can also help researchers understand how genes interact with one another–and even how they interact with drugs–to develop more personalized treatments for patients.
Greater collaboration between academia, industry and patient organizations
Collaboration is important because of the complexity of clinical research. It’s no longer enough for one organization to perform a study and publish its findings; there are too many stakeholders involved in every step along the way, from designing and implementing studies to interpreting data and sharing results.
Academia, industry and patient organizations have worked together in recent years to improve the clinical research process through greater collaboration between them on projects like ClinicalTrials.gov (a database where patients can find information about ongoing clinical trials) or ResearchKit (an open-source software framework developed by Apple).
The need to increase clinical trial participation and reduce patient dropout
Participation in clinical trials is critical to the future of medicine. It’s a vital part of the research process, but it’s also important for patients. Clinical trial participants help researchers answer questions about new treatments and find out if they work as expected, but there are some drawbacks to participating. The main problem is that many people who agree to be part of a study don’t show up at their scheduled appointment time or come back after leaving early–this is called “patient dropout.”
Patient dropout can lead to inaccurate results and wasted time and money spent on research projects that ultimately fail because they were not accurate enough due to incomplete data collection by non-completionists (those who do not finish). In addition, there are ethical implications associated with patient dropout: those who choose not participate may be missing out on benefits associated with taking part in clinical trials while others may receive potentially harmful side effects from experimental therapies without knowing what they are getting into beforehand
More remote clinical trials
There’s no doubt that remote clinical trials are gaining in popularity. As the technology becomes more advanced and accessible, it will become easier for patients to participate in clinical research without leaving home. Remote clinical trials are also cheaper and more convenient for patients, especially those living in rural areas with limited access to healthcare facilities or transportation options.
With this trend comes another: the use of telemedicine tools such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies can be used during a remote trial so that doctors can monitor patient symptoms remotely while conducting their research from anywhere in the world.
Conclusion
We believe that clinical research is poised for a major transformation. The changes we’ve outlined here will not only affect how new drugs are developed and tested, but also have the potential to improve patient outcomes and bring more cures to market faster.
