Boston Children’s launches ResearchKit study on hepatitis C

C Tracker

The Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital is using a ResearchKit-enabled app to run a study on hepatitis C. Called C Tracker, the study will give researchers insight into patients’ daily activity, monitor symptoms and assess the efficacy of treatments.

“By and large, the data we have now about hepatitis C treatments come from traditional clinical trials,” said Dr. Ken Mandl, director of CHIP and principal investigator of the study. “With C Tracker, we can listen to the patient voice to learn how people live with hepatitis in the real world.”

Beyond an iOS app, the study also includes a platform called C3-PRO — which stands for Consent, Contact and Community framework for Patient-Reported Outcomes — to connect the hospital to patient data via ResearchKit. Said platform is compatible with any ResearchKit app, not just C-Tracker, according to the hospital.

Mandl is one of those praising Apple’s platform that makes it easier to conduct medical studies. He foresees the future where ResearchKit apps like C Tracker “lower the barrier to participation and speed medical progress.”

Although C Tracker is run by a pediatric hospital, participants must be at least 18 years old.


[Via: MedCityNews]