JAMA publication demonstrates assessment validity, points to future research and real-world applications
Horsham, Pa.; February 16, 2022 — Clinical ink, a global clinical technology company, is excited to announce our Chief Innovation Officer Joan Severson\’s collaboration on the recently published JAMA Psychiatry paper Driving Performance and Cannabis Users’ Perception of Safety: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Severson was part of the team led by Dr. Thomas Marcotte, Professor and Co-Director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, at the University of California San Diego.
As the legalization of cannabis expands in the U.S., it is increasingly pressing to effectively measure its effects on users’ health, behavior and community. While breathalyzer tests exist to measure alcohol consumption and the ability to safely drive, no equivalent testing has been developed for cannabis use. In this trial, the team deployed proprietary, digitized assessments from Clinical Ink’s BrainBaseline™ platform to help measure cannabis-related impairment while driving.
By deploying our BrainBaseline™ assessments with other clinical tests (e.g., blood and urine draws) as well as linking changes in driving simulator performance to the standard field sobriety test, the trial found that cannabis use resulted in “driving decrements,\” or a worsened composite driving score (CDS) for as much as 4 hours post-use—even though many participants self-reported feeling safe to drive much sooner.
Importantly, researchers were not able to correlate users’ driving decrements with the amount of cannabis ingested or THC blood concentration. As a result, the study underscores the need for methods like digital cognitive measurements to effectively assess behavior or impairment due to cannabis use, including in-field testing.
These findings are the catalyst for expanded cannabis use measures and impact—whether negative or positive. The National Football League (NFL) recently announced $1 million in funding to the same University of California San Diego team for a clinical trial that will leverage our mobile assessments to study the effects of cannabinoids on sports-related injuries, pain management, and recovery.
“This study in JAMA, as well as the NFL award, further validates Clinical Ink’s BrainBaseline™ assessments as multifunctional tools to better measure patients in pressing real-world, real-time contexts,” said Severson. “It also proves the escalating need for advanced technology like ours to aid in expanding clinical discovery.”
About Clinical Ink
Clinical ink is the global life science company that brings data, technology, and patient science together. Our deep therapeutic-area expertise, coupled with Direct Data Capture, eCOA, eConsent, telehealth, neurocognitive testing, and digital biomarkers advancements, drive the industry standard for data precision and usher in a new generation of clinical trials.
