Boston, MA (PRWEB) November 12, 2012
Unnecessary procedures and amendments to clinical trial protocols cost sponsors more than $5 billion per year and are responsible for 20% of clinical trial budgets, according to recent research. To help reduce these costs and create zero-delay clinical trials, AG Mednet, Inc. has licensed from Columbia University advanced image analysis technology developed by Drs. Lawrence Schwartz, Binsheng Zhao and Yongqiang Tan at Columbia University Medical Center that aims to verify certain clinical study data prior to submission, a process that could reduce unnecessary procedures, protocol amendments and cost overruns for pharmaceutical clinical trials.
This technology is expected to deliver new quality control modules that check for anatomical completeness of chest, abdomen, pelvis, as well as presence/absence of contrast in CT scans at investigator sites prior to data submission, thus determining whether image sets are protocol compliant before they reach the core lab or sponsor for analysis.
“Compliance with image acquisition requirements is fundamental for proper evaluation in clinical trials,” said Dr. Lawrence Schwartz, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Radiology, Columbia University Medical Center, who has extensive experience in oncology clinical trials using both conventional and novel imaging modalities. “Our algorithms, together with AG Mednet’s advanced, site-side quality management infrastructure, could help confirm whether the data meets the anatomical completeness requirement and contrast usage at the investigator site prior to data submission. This may significantly cut down on data queries, enhance imaging data quality and enable investigators and adjudicators to reach clear conclusions faster.”
“Dr. Schwartz and his colleagues have created a unique set of algorithms which adds to AG Mednet’s infrastructure and we expect that it will provide investigator sites immediate feedback about the quality and compliance of their image sets within clinical trial protocols,” said Abraham Gutman, president and CEO of AG Mednet.
For more information about the benefits AG Mednet’s quality control module brings to imaging trial sponsors, imaging core labs, clinical research organizations and principal investigators, please visit http://www.agmednet.com/zerodelay.
ABOUT AG MEDNET
AG Mednet automates, expedites and improves outcomes in clinical trials by ensuring quality and compliance within critical medical imaging processes. Founded in 2005, AG Mednet is the leading quality compliance partner for image data submission and collection for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, imaging core labs and clinical research organizations managing clinical trials globally. More than 14,000 registered users across thousands of investigator sites in 60 countries use AG Mednet to participate in projects sponsored by each of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies.