ActiGraph creates data hub to transfer readouts from clinical-grade wearables

ActiGraph has unveiled plans to introduce the CentrePoint Data Hub, a device capable of transferring data from its clinical-grade wearables to cloud repositories managed by study teams. The device is intended to ensure the timely uploading of data, while freeing trial participants from the need to use their own PC or smartphone.

Pensacola, FL-based ActiGraph is best known as a developer of FDA-cleared wearable devices. These devices share many features with consumer-grade wearables, such as the step counts and sleep data generated by Fitbit ($FIT) and its ilk, but are designed specifically for use in clinical trial and home health monitoring programs. The CentrePoint hub unveiled this week is designed to act as a bridge between these devices and the researchers who are interested in the data they generate.

Currently, participants in ActiGraph-enabled clinical trials must upload their data via smartphone or PC, a process that places an additional compliance burden on them and assumes the study subjects have access to such technology. When the CentrePoint Data Hub is available, an event ActiGraph has described as “upcoming,” participants will be able to use the device instead of a smartphone or PC to transfer the data.

The sync between the wearable and the data hub is carried out via a USB cable or wirelessly over Bluetooth. Once the hub has access to the data, it uses a built-in 3G cellular network connection to send the results to ActiGraph’s cloud platform. ActiGraph expects this workflow to lead to the more timely uploading of data. The sooner the data are uploaded the lower the risk they will be lost, by a subject misplacing the device, for example, and the faster the study team can see the readouts.

“We see a lot of interest from pharmaceutical clinical trial sponsors in capturing objective activity and sleep information from clinical trial patients in real time,” James Munz, VP of innovation at ERT, a clinical trial technology company, said in a statement. Having access to real-time data can enable study teams to act quickly in the event of a noncompliance issue or inform decisions in studies with adaptive trial designs.

ActiGraph isn’t the only company to see value in the idea of a clinical trial data connectivity hub. The hub is reminiscent of the “Connectivity Bridge” Verily, the Alphabet ($GOOG) unit formerly known as Google Life Sciences, created to support the transfer of data from participants in its Baseline Study.

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