Inan O, Tenaerts P, Prindiville S. et al. (2020). Digitizing clinical trials. npj Digital Medicine. 3: 101. doi: 10.1038/s41746-020-0302-y
Through innovative technology, digital clinical trials (DCTs) have the potential to improve 3 key components of the clinical trial: recruitment and retention, data collection, and data analytics. New software can be used to identify appropriate trials for interested individuals (i.e. trial matching), and social media allows researchers to post study participation opportunities to a wide audience. Remote monitoring in DCTs reduces the need for in-person visits and may increase research participation among populations underrepresented in clinical trials. To increase accessibility of the recruitment process, researchers are using artificial intelligence to translate recruitment literature into lay-audience language. Researchers are also exploring how the addition of video content to the informed consent process may increase participant retention through improved understanding of study expectations. DCT technologies (portable and wearable mobile devices, implantable medical devices, electronic health records) allow researchers to continuously collect a diverse range of physiological and behavioral data with unprecedented efficiency. DCTs can also gather participant-generated data (e.g. photos of health outcomes taken on a participant smartphone). Researchers have harnessed machine learning and artificial intelligence to develop advanced analytic methods that improve digital data extraction and augment interpretation of trial findings. The DCT enables personalized delivery of study implementation strategies (e.g. reminders and engagement strategies) to maximize intervention efficacy for participants. Implementation of a DCT enterprise will require further empirical research on the benefits and risks involved in DCTs (e.g. ethics, privacy/security, potential negative effects).