One of the promises of wearable tech has been the possibility of making wearers’ data available for clinical trials. There are have been about a million obstacles to that goal. A recent two-day seminar at the New York Academy of Sciences discussed this very issue, with opinions ranging from “it’s too complex so it’ll never happen” to “here’s how we’re doing it today.”
But now, the FDA wants to figure out how to do it right, and it’s asking for formal comments: Specifically:
FDA seeks information to understand individual and industry experiences with the use of such technologies to more efficiently conduct clinical research. FDA also seeks stakeholder perspectives on possible barriers to implementing these technologies and methods to conduct clinical investigations.
If you’ve got a dog in this fight — and most wearables companies do — here’s your chance to be part of the process. Read the notice in the Federal Register and act accordingly. You’ve got until December 28.