Medidata Solutions, Inc.

Fasttrack Systems, Inc.

Michael G Kahn

Carol A Broverman

Michael Mischke-Reeds

Christopher Noon

Peter Leonard Abramowitsch

Kelly A Kingdon

Protocol meta-models are made available to a protocol designer. Each protocol meta-model includes a list of preliminary patient eligibility attributes appropriate for a particular disease category. The protocol designer chooses the appropriate meta-model, and encodes the clinical trial protocol, including eligibility and patient workflow, within the selected meta-model. The resulting protocol database is stored together with databases of other protocols in a library of protocol databases. Once a patient is enrolled into a study, the protocol database indicates to a clinician what tasks are to be performed at each patient visit. These tasks can include both patient management tasks and data management tasks.

Clinical trials management system and method

Roughly described, a user instantiates protocol elements in a structured clinical trial protocol database and then draws from them in the development of one or more protocol related documents. The system helps the user select tasks to be performed during the study by reference to a historical database of tasks previously associated with similar protocols. The system automatically generates complex content from protocol elements in the database, and can render overlapping sets of protocol elements differently at different locations in the document. The system can automatically provide advisories indicating aspects of the document that still require completion or highlighting other issues that a sponsoring authority deems important for the document type. After all protocol elements are instantiated in the protocol database, it can then be used to drive the operation of most downstream aspects of the study.

Asistance for clinical trial protocols

Meta-models are made available to clinical trial protocol designers. A meta-model includes a list of preliminary patient eligibility attributes appropriate for a particular disease category. The protocol designer chooses the appropriate meta-model, and encodes the clinical trial protocol, including eligibility and patient workflow, within the selected meta-model in a protocol database. The resulting protocol database is stored together with databases of other protocols in a library of protocol databases. Sponsors and individual clinical sites have controlled access to the protocols. Study sites make reference to the protocol database in order to perform patient eligibility screening. Once a patient is enrolled into a study, the protocol database indicates to the clinician what workflow tasks are to be performed at each patient visit.

Roughly described, a user instantiates protocol elements in a structured clinical trial protocol database and then draws from them in the development of one or more protocol related documents. The system helps the user select tasks to be performed during the study by reference to a historical database of tasks previously associated with similar protocols. The system automatically generates complex content from protocol elements in the database, and can render overlapping sets of protocol elements differently at different locations in the document. The system can automatically provide advisories indicating aspects of the document that still require completion or highlighting other issues that a sponsoring authority deems important for the document type. Alter all protocol elements are instantiated in the protocol database, it can then be used to drive the operation of most downstream aspects of the study.

Assistance for clinical trial protocols

Structure and methodology for reducing risk of protocol ambiguities that could lead to operational failures in the conduct of clinical trials. Roughly described, an analyst encodes the features of a protocol into a highly structured, formal model created specifically to capture issues that tend to cause operational difficulties. The process forces the analyst to look for specific parameters in the text version of the protocol. The system creates a database of the protocol as encoded, and can display the protocol schema as a graphical network of protocol events and temporal links. In one aspect, the database includes an object class into which an analyst encodes descriptions of operational uncertainties. The system can display the network in graphical-visual form, with a human-perceptible indication of objects that have operational uncertainties associated therewith. Advantageously, the formal protocol model includes slots for encoding temporal constraints among protocol events.

Growing community of inventors

Boulder, CO, United States of America

Michael G Kahn