In the clinical environment the problem arises that the acquisition of hundreds of parameters and the examination dates have to be coordinated in each participating center, which is a time and cost demanding challenge.

Therefore an electronic tool was developed within the EMSCI project. To fulfil the demands especially the concerns about data security, accessibility and flexibility we have decided not to implement a web-based concept, but to follow the standards of the “National Spinal Cord Injury Database”, which suggest a decentralized, stand-alone solution. The database is accessible via a network and is designed for simultaneous multi-user access. In regular intervals an updated version of the frontend is distributed. For performing the update no additional software tools are necessary. The unified implementation of the update database guarantees the flexibility needed within research projects.

The frontend contains all the definitions of the acquisition forms for the neurological, functional and electrophysiological documentation of SCI patients with a consistent appearance. Additional functions for automated time scheduling and a “missing tests”-function help to comply with the dedicated time frames for each patient. Either text-based or graphical reports may be generated. Beside rules for online data validation also additional calculation algorithms are included like an automated determination of the ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) Impairment Scale. Especially the latter is an effective method for minimization of a likely source of errors in the formation of patient subgroups.

(from: Rupp R, et. al. An electronic tool for multicenter administration, assessment and analysis of clinical trials in spinal cord injury. Biomedizinische Technik, 2005)

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Main Patient Input Mask