UCSF Eureka Research

Name: UCSF Eureka Research
Author: University of California, San Francisco

University of California, San Francisco

DOCUMENTED

Published in academic literature

For:General Public & EnthusiastsPatients & Caregivers

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App Summary

UCSF Eureka Research is a non-profit platform that enables the public to remotely participate in medical studies from institutions like UCSF, Harvard, and Johns Hopkins using their smartphones. The associated research describes how the platform's digital infrastructure supports innovative trial methods, such as remote recruitment, mobile data collection, and digital intervention delivery. The authors conclude that this approach has the potential to reduce the time and expense of clinical research, thereby accelerating medical discovery.

App Screenshots

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Detailed Description

Functionality & Mechanism

Developed by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), the Eureka Research Platform is a mobile application designed to facilitate public participation in clinical research. The system functions as a centralized hub, enabling individuals to discover and enroll in studies from various academic institutions. The interface supports remote data collection through smartphone sensors, ecological momentary assessments, and participant-reported outcomes. The platform architecture is engineered to support diverse research protocols, including remote recruitment and digital intervention delivery.

Evidence & Research Context

Associated research describes the platform as a national resource designed to digitize and mobilize health research for academic investigators.
The system architecture is engineered to support remote recruitment, mobile data collection, geofencing, ecological momentary assessments, and digital intervention delivery.
The platform has been adopted as the primary data collection and trial management tool in more than 50 distinct research studies.

Intended Use & Scope

This platform is intended for members of the general public to participate in institutional clinical research. Its primary utility is to serve as a secure data collection and communication tool for registered studies. The system does not provide clinical diagnoses, medical advice, or therapeutic interventions. All study-related activities must be conducted under the guidance of the respective research teams.

Studies & Publications

2 publications

Peer-reviewed research associated with this app.

Non-Evaluative Reference

Digital platforms for clinical trials: The Eureka experience

Peyser et al. (2022) · Contemporary Clinical Trials

Referenced in academic literature; no direct evaluation of the app

Clinical trials are critically necessary for evaluating new medical drugs, devices, and other interventions designed to improve health. Digital methods have the potential to dramatically reduce the time and expense involved in clinical research, though they also pose new challenges for investigators. The Eureka Research Platform was developed as a national resource for digitizing and mobilizing health research. Platforms like Eureka enable innovation in trial design and methods, enabling remote recruitment strategies, mobile health data collection through connected devices and apps, geofencing for event ascertainment and location-based data collection, ecological momentary assessments, and intervention delivery. Here we describe our cumulative Eureka experience across more than 50 studies launched to date and offer perspectives on emerging opportunities.

Non-Evaluative Reference

Using Digital Health Technology to Better Generate Evidence and Deliver Evidence-Based Care

Sharma et al. (2018) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Referenced in academic literature; no direct evaluation of the app

As we enter the information age of health care, digital health technologies offer significant opportunities to optimize both clinical care delivery and clinical research. Despite their potential, the use of such information technologies in clinical care and research faces major data quality, privacy, and regulatory concerns. In hopes of addressing both the promise and challenges facing digital health technologies in the transformation of health care, we convened a think tank meeting with academic, industry, and regulatory representatives in December 2016 in Washington, DC. In this paper, we summarize the proceedings of the think tank meeting and aim to delineate a framework for appropriately using digital health technologies in healthcare delivery and research.

In the Media

UCSF app wants to use your biometric data to track the spread of coronavirus

UC San Francisco's COVID-19 Citizen Science project welcomes contributions from anyone over 18 with a phone through the Eureka Research platform app, giving non-scientists a way to help advance understanding of the coronavirus pandemic. To participate, users sign up through UCSF's Eureka Research platform using their phone number and complete app questionnaires about their health status. The initiative enables widespread data collection from citizen scientists to support COVID-19 research efforts.

EngadgetRead article

New COVID-19 'Citizen Science' Initiative Lets Any Adult with a Smartphone Help to Fight Coronavirus

UC San Francisco physician-scientists created COVID-19 Citizen Science (CCS) to enable anyone age 18 or over worldwide to become a citizen scientist advancing disease understanding through smartphone participation. The initiative addresses how coronavirus spread varies across individuals and regions, with factors affecting populations not well understood. A critical mass of participants will help researchers understand COVID-19's impact and transmission patterns through UCSF's research platform.

ArchiveRead article

New COVID-19 'Citizen Science' Initiative Lets Any Adult with a Smartphone Help to Fight Coronavirus

UC San Francisco physician-scientists launched COVID-19 Citizen Science (CCS) to allow anyone in the world age 18 or over to become a citizen scientist advancing understanding of the disease through UCSF's Eureka Research platform. The initiative addresses how the spread of coronavirus varies across individuals and regions, with factors affecting individuals and populations not well understood. A critical mass of CCS participants will help researchers understand COVID-19's varied impact globally.

UcsfRead article

COVID-19 Citizen Science Study Progress

UC San Francisco's COVID-19 Citizen Science Study provides regular updates to contributors through the Eureka App, with the study updates webpage accessible by tapping the COVID-19 Citizen Science logo on the home page. The research team values each contributor and shares findings and progress as the study continues. The platform enables ongoing communication between researchers and participants throughout the citizen science initiative.

EurekaplatformRead article