A U.K.-based company called IgniteData, which focuses on the transfer of data between electronic health records and clinical research study databases, has joined the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) Innovation Hub.
IgniteData will provide data transfer integration between the EHR at MSK and the electronic systems of two clinical trial sponsors, with the expectation of expanding this project to include additional sponsors and trials. The collaboration is aiming to improve the process of data collection for cancer research by reducing the requirement for time-consuming data duplication and source data verification (SDV).
IgniteData says that its system-agnostic electronic data transfer technology, Archer, eliminates the need for researchers to manually transcribe data such as vital signs and labs, domains that typically account for as much as 50 percent of total data required. “Archer’s purpose-built Smart Mapping Engine matches site and sponsor ontologies and normalizes complex healthcare data. The solution enables research staff to rapidly transfer existing regulatory-grade data from the EHR to the sponsor’s study database, eliminating data entry errors, and significantly reducing SDV and query resolution time,” the company said. Scalable by design, the company said, Archer is purpose-built for multi-site trials, multiple users, different hospital systems, and complex data collection requirements.
“Today, a typical phase 3 oncology study generates an average of 3.6 million data points. More than half of this eSource data already exists in patients’ electronic medical records, yet it is still being painstakingly transcribed into study databases, burdening research staff and creating inefficiencies and delays, said IgniteData’s CEO and Co-founder Dan Hydes, in a statement. "As pioneers of EHR-to-EDC data interoperability, and in collaboration with MSK’s Innovation Hub, we are proud to lead the drive to solve the clinical trial data challenge and accelerate the pace of clinical trial digital transformation alongside the world’s leading cancer center.”
The MSK Innovation Hub brings together health technology innovators and MSK’s community of researchers, clinicians, and digital health professionals through a program designed to advance the prevention, treatment, and cure of cancer. The MSK Innovation Hub is targeted at accelerating development of innovative products and businesses that will make a meaningful impact in the lives of people with cancer and caregivers.
“We are excited to collaborate with IgniteData given our shared goal of unlocking the power of EHR data for use in clinical research,” said Joseph Lengfellner, senior director, clinical research informatics at MSK, in a statement. “This collaboration aspires to automate the routine tasks performed by our research teams and quicken the pace of clinical trial execution, driving us toward our ultimate goal of changing how the world treats cancer through research.”
MSK noted that it has institutional financial interests related to IgniteData.
