Leveraging Technology for Medical Research
Google Research engineers Chintan Ghate and Diana Mincu have developed a setup that expands the FDA MyStudies platform to create a digital health study. This effort, called MS Signals, uses a symptom tracking app for MS patients to revolutionize chronic disease management and tracking.
Extending the FDA MyStudies platform
The original platform allowed people to configure study apps, but we made it more accessible and streamlined, with cross-platform app generation using Flutter, a simplified setup, and an emphasis on accessibility.
System accessibility enhancements
We made sure the platform supports light and dark themes, bold text, variable font-sizes, high-contrast mode, and improved user awareness of accessibility settings.
Study accessibility enhancements
We clarified the on-boarding process and improved questionnaire design to make the study easier to interact with and reduce cognitive overload.
The MS Signals prototype study
The MS Signals app uses surveys to gather information about a participant’s MS-related symptoms, with different pages for activities, dashboard, and resources. We also focused on reducing the cognitive burden and ensuring previously entered information is readily available in the app.
Overall, this setup provides a more accessible, streamlined, and effective way to conduct digital health studies, advancing our understanding of medical conditions and improving patient care.