The medical device industry is simultaneously a business and an altruistic mission, designed to both make a profit and benefit the millions of people who need effective medical care. For this reason, most medical device manufacturers choose to invest in things like leak detection equipment, which helps prove their product’s quality and check for defects that could harm the patient by using leak testing methods. Now, two well-known names in the field are undertaking a similar, beneficial project: a clinical data sharing program on medical devices and their diagnostics.
Called the Yale University Open Data Access (YODA), the program has been made possible by a collaboration between the university and Johnson and Johnson. Through the program, clinical data from trials conducted by Johnson and Johnson’s Medical Devices and Diagnostic businesses will be made available to researchers. YODA will act as an intermediary between the corporation and investigators, managing requests and promoting data usage. If a request is approved, researchers will be given access to de-identified patient data connected with pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic clinical trials.
The project is one of the first and largest data sharing programs focusing on this particular type of information, a move those associated with the endeavor hope will promote the concept of open science in clinical medicine. The organizations also hope that YODA will help benefit society by enabling multiple research projects and revealing the true benefits and consequences of different devices, allowing scientists to develop better technology. In time, supporters of the project hope that open science will become as integral to the development of therapies and devices as leak detection equipment and other measures are currently, becoming an important part of assuring quality and promoting innovation. Read more.
