Sensor Cloud: Pioneering the Next Generation of Virtual Trials Technology

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for technologies that support the adoption of more flexible clinical trials, as challenges abound for traditional methods. Patient recruitment, of course, has always been one of the most significant challenges for the industry, with four out of five sites being unable to fulfill enrollment requirements. Furthermore, 30% of trials are canceled due to insufficient participation,¹ 23% of patients are unhappy with site location,² and more than 30% of patients drop out before a study ends.³

Amidst these patient-related challenges, the overall complexity of clinical trials has increased, leading to a 58% increase in the number of clinical sites involved in a trial,⁴ and this complexity has been compounded by COVID-19, which has reduced patient enrollment by 80%.⁵

To overcome these challenges, sponsors and CROs rely on patient-centric solutions, operational efficiencies, and data to drive the best possible decisions. Flexible solutions, like wearables for data collection and virtualization, have proven effective for conducting virtualized trials and gathering patient data remotely. These data collection strategies mitigate inconveniences for patients by collecting data in real time from patients wherever they are, while allowing sites to focus more attention on patient care.

While sponsors and CROs increasingly accept virtualization, these technologies remain in the early stages of evaluation and adoption as the global wearable medical devices market is growing at a staggering rate. In 2018, it was valued at USD 24.6B; by 2026 the market size is projected to reach USD 139.4B with a CAGR of 24.7%.^6,7 In terms of prevalence in clinical trials, usage of wearables is projected to increase from 10–15% of trials in 2019 to 70% of trials by 2025.⁸

To support sponsors and CROs throughout this transformational growth of wearables and digital health technologies used in clinical trials, Medidata has launched Sensor Cloud, which pioneers the next generation of virtual trial technology through cutting-edge analytics and a common data model that simplifies and expedites data ingestion. Customers benefit from a unified experience that provides better insights and outcomes throughout the clinical development process.

In support of the technology behind Sensor Cloud, Medidata recently acquired MC10 to provide research companies and device developers new and innovative ways to collect, normalize, and analyze data in pursuit of new therapy development. This enhanced capability closely connects patients with researchers, practitioners, and life science companies committed to understanding disease, creating transformational therapies, and achieving novel endpoints.

Sponsors and CROs equipped with Medidata’s Sensor Cloud use the technology to:

• Virtualize clinical trials
• Reduce site and patient burden by cutting down on site visits, time and travel through a more flexible engagement model
• Provide better clinical insights through ingestion and analysis of high-fidelity, high frequency and precise medical-grade data
• Lower costs by reducing onsite visits and expediting timelines through faster clinical insight development
• Deliver standardization of data from ingestion through delivery

Learn more about Medidata’s Sensor Cloud

¹ 2015 Why Clinical Trials Are Terminated

² 2017 CISCRP Perceptions & Insights Study

³ National Academy of Sciences, The Prevention and Treatment of Missing Data in Clinical Trials.

⁴ 2015 Tufts: The Cost of Clinical Trial Delays

⁵ Covid-19 & Clinical Trials - The Medidata Perspective

⁶ Wearable Medical Devices Market

⁷ Connected Digital Products: Growing Use in Clinical Trials

⁸ Wearables In Clinical Trials