| Mark Cusack at Cognitive Drug Research analyses the growing role of automated cognitive testing within clinical trials
Technological developments have produced a vast array of inviting possibilities for the use of automated cognitive testing within clinical trials. Promising quick, clean empirical data at minimal inconvenience to the investigator and subject alike, automated cognitive testing also provides greater operational efficiency and scientific insight. However, these developments should come with a health warning. As seen with the dot.com revolution, it is easy to be intoxicated by the allure of a technological panacea to let these technological advancements drive decisions. Companies can be guilty of focusing on what they could do instead of what they should do, letting science be a slave to technology.
This article hopes to address these points by returning to first principles and establishing that, when technology is instead serving science, real value and insight can be added to virtually any clinical trial programme. Specifically, it elaborates on why automated cognitive testing ought to be employed, what advantages it offers and how these relate to the different phases of clinical development, and whether it can generate early indications of efficacy. Furthermore, is there scope and value to be added by employing these systems beyond what would traditionally be considered as cognitive testing’s therapeutic footprint? And if these queries produce a positive result, what then should be sought from a vendor, and most importantly, what the regulatory authorities will require. |
