The world's first complete digital clinical trial has been carried out.

   According to the publication, the first complete digital clinical trial has answered two comprehensive questions, such as: is it possible to successfully carry out a complete digital randomized clinical trial? And is it possible to encourage people to exercise more by using the mobile application?

   The results have shown that the answer to both these questions is yes. The authors have carried out this test using MyHeart Counts, an app designed on Apple ResearchKit platform. For the first time, MyHeart Counts was launched on smartphones in 2015. It was designed to track the physical activity of users and register cardiac data, such as heart rate.

   MyHeart Counts has become the primary tool for a full-scale digital randomized clinical trial. According to its conditions, the app “prescribed” one of four simple interventions to every participant (registered MyHeart user) and, if necessary, sent reminders, for example, about the need to move more. As a result, the tips have worked: regardless of the type of intervention, the authors observed an increase in activity of about 10% compared with the initial level.

   “In the digital age, we need to think about ways to engage people to care for their own health. Currently, the number of smartphone users is huge, and since people are dependent on their phones, perhaps we can also use this dependence for the benefit” the authors said.

   Source: MEDICAL XPRESS