Patients with mobility issues can now participate in clinical ophthalmology trials from the comfort of their homes, thanks to the FocalView app developed by Novartis. This innovative app allows researchers to study and collect data on eye diseases, regardless of a patient's location, thereby overcoming the challenges posed by traditional ophthalmic trials.
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Data Collection and Patient Participation: FocalView enables patients to record their own measurements, which could lead to the faster development and market introduction of new treatments. Traditional trials often face practical challenges, making data capture inflexible and intermittent.
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App Functionality: Once users consent to participate, the app prompts them to complete assessments on their visual function and detail any changes over time. Initially, FocalView will be tested in a prospective, non-interventional study to assess its effectiveness in evaluating visual function, including visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.
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Expert Insight: Dr. Mark Bullimore, a medical advisor for FocalView, highlights the app's potential to benefit the ophthalmic community and researchers by offering a better reflection of real-world patient experiences, fostering better patient compliance, and providing richer, more accurate data points.
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Future Prospects: The app's ease of use, level of uptake, and capacity to obtain documentation for future clinical trial research will be monitored. Its results will also be compared to traditional visual testing conducted in conventional clinical settings. FocalView is currently available in the US App Store, with plans to expand to additional markets. Findings from FocalView will be accessible via the Apple ResearchKit platform.
This development follows Novartis's recent announcement of plans to begin up to 10 clinical trials over the next three years with Science 37, aiming to decentralize clinical trial technology so that certain aspects can be conducted at a patient's home or by their GP.
