Press Releases

Curebase and CoBTeK (team from Côte d’Azur) to Collaborate on a European Clinical Trial of Remote Tools Designed to Help Seniors Retain Autonomy

SAN FRANCISCO and NICE, France, February 22, 2022—Curebase, a company committed to democratizing access to clinical studies, and CoBTeK, a laboratory from the University of Côte d’Azur (UCA), that brings together healthcare and computer science academic researchers, and companies in the healthcare sector; have announced a collaboration in the context of a cross-border (France & Italy) project in order to test the effectiveness of remote interventions in allowing elderly people to remain autonomous.

Trial organizers hope to recruit 105 elderly volunteers from rural and urban areas of France and Italy. The aim of the project is to bring together players in the healthcare and social services sectors, as well as companies or research institutions or universities working on solutions to improve the life of elderly people, mainly by enabling them to stay at home as long as possible without having to go to nursing homes or special clinics.

The trial is being co-financed by ALCOTRA, a European cross-border cooperation program covering the Alpine territory between France and Italy. ALCOTRA supports “smart, sustainable and inclusive” growth that focus on employment, research and innovation, education, social inclusion and poverty reduction, climate change and energy. The program’s objective is the improve the quality of people’s lives and cross-border economic and social systems.

An initial step in the project relied on focus groups to determine the needs of the target trial population. Next came a series of experiments with seniors in a clinical setting in which technologies and solutions were used to provide physical, cognitive and social stimulation to participants. In the upcoming home-based trial in conjunction with Curebase, researchers will test whether remote interventions using the same tools are effective in promoting autonomy among seniors.

“As Europe’s population ages, and access to healthcare becomes more challenging, it is important that we find ways to reduce the cost of interventions designed to keep seniors physically, mentally and socially active,” said a CoBTeK Spokesperson. “Working with Curebase gives us a trial platform that allows us to assess the effectiveness of home-based interventions on our elderly participants.”

Curebase's decentralized clinical trial (DCT) model ensures more diverse studies because unique populations – which typically are underrepresented in clinical trials – can be included. The company's virtual research sites also provide physicians with new and unique options to offer their patients, regardless of location. For this trial, the Curebase platform will help researchers collect data from questionnaires and audio and video recordings of participants, who will undergo assessments by clinicians before and after the interventions to measure progress.

“Keeping senior citizens physically and mentally active and engaged socially is the best way to ensure quality of life for the elderly while helping to reduce healthcare costs,” said Curebase CEO and founder Tom Lemberg. “This is a significant study whose results will be closely watched by public health officials not only in Europe, but everywhere.”

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About Curebase

At Curebase, our mission is to bring quality medical innovations to patients faster and improve human wellbeing through more efficient clinical studies. We are proving that clinical research can be radically accelerated if we empower physicians everywhere to enroll patients in the communities where they live. By applying cutting edge clinical software and remote study management techniques to the problem, we are reinventing clinical trials and research from the ground up. For more information, please visit www.curebase.com.

About CoBTeK (Team Côte d’Azur)

CoBTeK (Cognition Behavior Technology) is a host team from University Côte d'Azur (UCA) which was created in partnership with Inria (National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology) in 2011. The team aims to develop research on use of information and communication technologies for healthcare. CoBTeK is acting as a delegate of the Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur (MNCA), part of an ecosystem which offers support services for investors wishing to set up on the French Riviera. Such ecosystem acts as a facilitator to propel investment projects towards success, while attracting investment to generate prosperous economic impacts on the French Riviera. The region of Côte d’Azur attracts companies and talent and boosts the creation of jobs and wealth for the local ecosystem. This ecosystem, under the supervision of local authorities and the Riviera’s economic partners, provides territorial cohesion in endeavours in France and abroad.