Electronic data capture (EDC) using cellular technology: implications for clinical trials and practice, and...

The capture, analysis and utilisation of health status information are attended by logistic considerations and interpretation challenges. We report a preliminary evaluation of cellular technology in capturing WOMAC NRS 3.1 Index data.

A Java midlet for delivering the WOMAC NRS3.1 Index on Nokia-6300, Motorola-V3 and Samsung-A711 mobile phones was developed by Exco InTouch. Following task orientation, patients completed the paper-based WOMAC (p-WOMAC questionnaire, and then the three mobile phonebased WOMAC (m-WOMAC applications, in random order.

All 12 patients (age range = 55-82 years) successfully completed the m-WOMAC Index on each of the three phones, and all were found acceptable by patients. With respect to m-WOMAC mean overall rank score, no significant difference was found between the 3 phones (Friedman's chi square (2 df) = 2.2, p = 0.34) however, Motorola V3 was favoured with the best mean rank. Pearson correlation between the average p-WOMAC and average m-WOMAC score was 0.996.

Patient reported ratings indicated the m-WOMAC application performed well on all three phones. EDC provides unique opportunities for using quantitative measurement in both clinical practice and research.