Exco Intouch has begun a mobile phone data capture (EDC) study that uses the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis (Womac) NRS 3.1 Index.
A previous pilot study is highlighted in Exco Intouch's technical poster, 'Electronic Data Capture Using Womac NRS 3.1 Index: a Pilot Study of Cellular Technology in OA' which is available for free from the company's website.
The preliminary study involved asking 12 patients to complete questionnaires on their mobile telephones.
The full study is now live and currently enrolling patients, with 31 already enlisted.
The aim of the study is to compare the effectiveness of patient self-reported outcome questionnaires completed on paper with those completed on a mobile phone using m-Womac, Exco Intouch's electronic version of the Womac Index.
The Womac Index is a validated instrument used for assessing hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA).
It is a reliable and responsive measure of outcome in a variety of clinical environments.
The index consists of a self-assessment questionnaire asking 24 questions about OA, on pain, disability and joint stiffness.
Exco Intouch modified the index slightly for use as a questionnaire application on mobile phones in the pilot study, to evaluate the use of cellular technology in capturing the Womac NRS 3.1 Index.
Each of the patients, ten of whom had concomitant hand OA, completed three EDC questionnaires with a mobile phone using m-Womac.
The initial data suggests the m-Womac is comparable to the traditional paper-based version of the questionnaire.
Exco Intouch's m-Womac is a Java-based application that runs on a patient's mobile phone and facilitates the completion of EDC questionnaires.
Using m-Womac, questions are sent directly to a patient's mobile phone by text message.
Patients are prompted to respond by entering a PIN number to ensure data integrity.
