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CHeT Innovation

Virtual (or “site-less”) studies use video conferencing to conduct remote assessments, eliminate geographic barriers to participation, and allow for more efficient study conduct. New tools, such as smartphones and sensors, can be incorporated into clinical trials and enable objective and frequent assessments of participants in real-world settings.

Bringing Research to Participants
  • Use new technologies to conduct a dozen studies with virtual visits that have reached more than 1500 participants throughout the county
    • LIGHT-PD: A fully remote clinical study testing the effectiveness of an investigational, FDA Breakthrough therapeutic light device (“Celeste”) for motor and non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Participants use the device daily at home—no travel or additional medications required.
    • AT-HOME PD: A follow-up study to AT-HOME PD, SURE-PD3, and STEADY-PD III, using video visits, online surveys, and smartphone apps, with the addition of wrist-worn Fitbits to track activity. The study aims to improve prediction of major disease milestones like falls and cognitive impairment in Parkinson’s.
    • MEND-HD: A fully remote observational study for individuals with early Huntington’s disease that uses wearable sensors to passively collect data on movement (gait and chorea). The goal is to validate digital outcome measures that can be used in future drug trials.
  • Recruit and retain a national cohort of clinical trial-ready participants in a longitudinal natural history study
  • Amass a local and national registry of highly engaged participants known as project:brain health. Visit projectbrain.org to learn more
High Frequency Assessments

CHeT has also pioneered studies of smartphones, wearables, video analytics and invisible sensors that collect data inside and outside the clinic. Over 20,000 individuals from every state in the country participated in the mPower Parkinson’s disease smartphone study that CHeT helped support with colleagues at Sage Bionetworks. This study, along with ten others, have captured how individuals feel and function in their natural environment and provide new insights into the disease and assess the effectiveness of experimental and approved therapies.

CHeT has deployed the use of smartphones, wearables, and radio-wave sensors in fully-virtual studies to enable trial participation from anywhere. Soon, we will be taking these tools globally.