Electronic data capture platform for clinical research based on mobile phones and Near Field Communication technology

Electronic data capture systems support data acquisition for clinical research and enable the evaluation of new investigational medical devices. In case of evaluating a device the most challenging part is the user interface i.e. the solution how to acquire the data within a clinical setting and to synchronize them with a web-based data centre. The aim of this paper is to describe the development of an electronic data capture system with a mobile data input solution based on mobile phones and Near Field Communication technology. This system was evaluated within a real clinical setting and demonstrated high usability, security and reliability.