Computer support service

As an additional service for research groups, we offer computer support in the design, preparation and implementation of electronic data capture (EDC) for clinical trials, cross-sectional and prospective studies and surveys.

We have proven experience in supporting clinical studies and trials through the development of specific IT solutions, which can be hosted on our servers or on external servers.

Additionally, we develop solutions for the design and implementation of computerized records for studies based on REDCap.

Some examples of implemented solutions

For the ENBiBA project of the Diabesity group belonging to the ERA-EDTA, a set of computer applications has been developed that allow the management of nephrectomy samples in patients with kidney cancer. The main application is a registry accessible from the internet through a web application in which the maximum simplicity of use by the researchers was sought. Thus, among other design strategies, the system displays on the same screen the list of all nephrectomies sent to the Biobank of the Hospital Universitario de Canarias, together with detailed information on patients and laboratory samples sent.

SOCANNE asked us for an online multicenter manager for its kidney biopsy database. The implemented system is accessible by multiple researchers from the four largest hospitals in the Canary Islands.

As an example of computer development for a clinical trial, let us cite here the set of online tools implemented for the MiMo Study, in the area of Cardiology, consisting of an application for the random assignment of study arms, an electronic data capture application with its corresponding version for study monitoring, and a separated module for the PI with a variable selector for intermediate and final export to statistical analysis tools (SPSS and spreadsheets).

Diseñamos e implementamos soluciones online y locales(*) para estudios prospectivos, transversales, encuestas complementarias a estudios de larga duración, registros, todos ellos con la preservación rigurosa de criterios ajustados a la legalidad en relación con la protección de datos personales, auditoría de datos. Asimismo las dotamos de respaldos (backups) automáticos, exportaciones intermedias y finales a SPSS, hojas de cálculo como Excel o Calc y otras herramientas de análisis estadístico (como R, Stata, Sas, etc). En los casos en los que es imprescindible mantener la identificación de los pacientes también desarrollamos herramientas para su uso en equipos informáticos inaccessibles desde Internet pero sujetos igualmente a exigencias de seguridad y protección de los datos. En estos casos implementamos soluciones en Access, Python sobre gestores de datos locales, o soluciones de Intranet.

We design and implement online and LAN solutions (*) for prospective, cross-sectional studies, complementary surveys to long-term studies, simple and complex database management, all of them with the rigorous preservation of criteria adjusted to legality in relation to the protection of personal data, data auditing . We also provide them with automatic backups, intermediate and final exports to SPSS, spreadsheets such as Excel or Calc and other statistical analysis tools (such as R, Stata, Sas, etc). In cases where it is essential to maintain patient identification, we also develop tools for use on computer equipment inaccessible from the Internet but also subject to security and data protection requirements. In these cases we implement solutions in Access, Python on local data managers, or Intranet solutions.

(*) LAN solutions are those computer applications or programs whose components are housed on a single machine and run on that machine or on one physically connected to the same local area network. Intranet solutions are those in which components are similar or identical to those used on the Internet but housed in computers in a network that is completely or partially isolated from the Internet.