That Makes a Difference –
The PerMed Case Study
In a Nutshell
Sarid Research recruited 4000 individuals as ‘Specialized Research Communities’ (SRC) for an IoT-based PERsonalized MEDicine (PerMed) academic research.
Subjects carried a smartwatch and reported daily health questionnaires, which was then cross-referenced and analyzed for predictive modelling using smartwatches.
Researchers were able to create machine learning models to analyze the effects of vaccines, predict raspatory diseases, migraines, and identify PTSD risk.
Background
A joint venture of two research groups from Tel-Aviv university (the big data lab and the laboratory for digital epidemiology and health analytics), headed by Prof. Erez Shmueli and Prof. Dan Yamin, contracted Sarid to build the research community from the ground up, including recruitment, maintenance, and logistic operations for supplying devices, onboarding, and ongoing support for the community.
The project was funded by two sources: the ERC (European Research Committee) and ISF (Israeli Science Foundation).
The Challenge
The researchers faced a significant challenge in conducting a large-scale IoT-based study, obtaining frequent and reliable data. They needed to recruit and manage a diverse and dedicated community of 4,000 participants willing to contribute daily health data through wearable technology. This project required not only extensive participant recruitment but also comprehensive logistical support, including onboarding, device distribution, and ongoing engagement. Additionally, the researchers needed a reliable partner to handle the complexities of building and sustaining this specialized community, ensuring high-quality data collection for accurate predictive modeling.
The Solution
Sarid provided a one stop shop, managing all related operations, so that researchers have a clear mind to do the actual research, without worrying about compliance, sample sizes, logistics, etc.
The methodologies that Sarid applied included online recruitment via dedicated campaigns involving paid ads and social, infrastructure development (i.e., dashboards and related automations) for supporting the required processes as well as integrating to the client’s systems, a definition and automation of onboarding process to qualify leads into participating subjects, provide them with smartwatches, and keep an ongoing communication channel during the research period, and establishing a dedicated call center to recruit and retain the community and provide support when needed (e.g., with technical issues).
In addition to these, subjects were tracked using the smartwatch and answered daily health questionnaires, for obtaining the required research data. A daily and weekly routines were defined and followed to keep the community engaged, along with reminders and management of the community, and unique engagement activities such as webinars and posts were applied as needed, to increase engagement, solicit additional feedback, and answer questions.
Prof. Dan Yamin: Sarid Institute operated according to strict standards, in an orderly and meticulous manner, and has made all the necessary adjustments to comply with the regulations of the Israeli Ministry of Health (through the Helsinki committees), and the European ethics committees, in an appreciative manner.
The Impact
The research team was able to publish groundbreaking papers, based on the data collected in this research, including: the influence of COVID-19 vaccine, PTSD, migraines, epilepsy, etc… Their scientific discoveries have contributed to advancing personal medicine world wide.
Conclusions
Several factors contributed to the success of this collaboration, among them were good planning, proper methodologies, sound technological integration, and research understanding that supported the communication between the research team and the Sarid team.
Prof. Yamin concluded: Working with the Sarid Institute is characterized by professional and efficient management, while meeting goals and a strict schedule. The professional staff provides with the most professional service. The intensive work process is accompanied by a good atmosphere, pleasantness and willingness to always cooperate.
About Sarid Institute
Sarid Institute is a strategic Data Science consultancy firm with over three decades of research experience serving a diverse clientele. Sarid accelerates organizations’ growth by discovering the insights driving People, Markets and Customers. We maintain our leading position by continually updating and offering innovative solutions, drawing on the broad expertise of our specialists and leveraging cutting-edge technologies. Our hands-on approach allows us to provide creative, customized solutions that meet the specific needs of each client.