Parkinson's disease research, sponsored by King's College London, verifies clinical observation data using the Algorand blockchain LONDON , June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- LabTrace , a blockchain authentication system for data integrity and ownership certification, today announces the completion of the first experimental medicine study (ref ID: NCT03782753 ) to utilize its on-chain notarization tool, a novel solution to proving the provenance of medical research data. The study, sponsored by King's College London (KCL), involved patients with Parkinson's disease. By utilizing the Algorand blockchain, LabTrace has introduced unprecedented transparency, accountability and security in the verification of scientific research data.
There is growing concern that the exponential expansion of digital data in healthcare and medical research is being accompanied by a growing incidence of scientific fraud. According to The Guardian, in 2023 "the annual number of papers retracted by research journals topped 10,000 for the first time," and "most analysts believe this figure is only the tip of an iceberg of scientific fraud." One reason cited for the increase in falsified data is the pressure to generate successful, high-impact results, which afford the researchers more recognition and career advancement opportunities.
"Progress in science and medicine is critically dependent on the quality of the data collected in our research studies, and we take that responsibility very seriously," said p.