Archives April 2010

Over the last few years, Electronic Data Capture (EDC) has strengthened its usage and it is predicted that it will replace paper for capturing clinical trial data. Will we see a paperless world in the near future, or certain obstacles such as not realizing the true value of EDC will act as a barrier? Clean, high-quality data is one of the most critical elements of any clinical trial and to obtain this most companies engaged in clinical research have a robust Clinical Data Management System (CDMS) in place. CDMS is a tool used in clinical research to manage the data of a clinical trial and can be broadly divided into paper-based and EDC system, historically, the collection of clinical trial data has been a very manual, paper-based process. The clinical trial data is gathered at the investigator site in the Case Report Forms (CRFs) and sent to the more...

The accident that happened with cobalt-60 in Delhi is an eye-opener. In this case, the source has been sold as scrap and handled as a scrap by sawing the container. This has resulted in serious radiation damage for a few persons. Now that India is a nuclear power, we have to be extra-careful in stringent enforcement of our laws regarding civilian uses of radioactive materials as tracers or even in medical therapy. Every gram that is sold should be monitored with regular checks. Every medical equipment using X-rays or y-rays or tracers should be handled only by persons trained-to be sensitive about radiation, not only caring for the doctor's health but also that of the patients. Nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry and particularly health physics has to be taught in school. Fire-fighting should include courses in handling nuclear disasters. Civilian population should be taught how to protect themselves against nuclear explosions. more...