Springbox Works with Michael J. Fox Foundation to Create Groundbreaking Online Tool in the Fight against Parkinson’s
Austin, TX — Aug 22, 2011
The Michael J. Fox Foundation has launched an innovative new online portal built with Austin-based interactive marketing agency Springbox to help connect volunteers with Parkinson’s disease clinical trial teams.
The beta version of Fox Trial Finder launched on July 14. This Web-based solution is designed to connect willing volunteers with the Parkinson's clinical trials that urgently need them. Using state-of-the-art technology, Fox Trial Finder compares volunteer information such as location and medical history with trial eligibility requirements to find the best potential matches at study sites nearby. The online tool matches people with and without Parkinson's to appropriate studies, streamlining the flow of participants into trials and ultimately helping speed new therapies into patients’ hands.
“With participation in clinical trials critical to finding the cure for Parkinson’s disease, Springbox is proud to have helped The Michael J. Fox Foundation create this unique tool,” said Mike Bullock, general manager of Springbox. “Our hope is that Fox Trial Finder and our work will help increase awareness and enable more people in PD community to get involved in this important step in finding a cure.”
Specifically, the Fox Trial Finder tool enables the following:
- Smart, personalized volunteer-trial matches: Fox Trial Finder compares information provided by patient and control volunteers (including location and brief medical history) to key clinical trial eligibility criteria to identify possible matches.
- Direct volunteer-trial team connections via on-site messaging: Volunteer users on Fox Trial Finder can send a message, without revealing their identity, directly to the coordinator recruiting for the nearest site of their trial matches; similarly, trial coordinators can reach out directly to the volunteer matches Fox Trial Finder identifies for their trials.
- Pre-screening of de-identified volunteer profiles: Volunteers can share additional information about themselves beyond just the match criteria to help coordinators pre-screen their record before suggesting a phone or in-person screening, increasing the likelihood that time dedicated to screening in the clinic will be worthwhile
- Ongoing email alerts: An alert system supports continued engagement through a built-in feature that notifies users via email of new matches and messages received on Fox Trial Finder.
Researchers need increased participation in order to effectively and efficiently advance new therapies, and trial participation is a way for patients with Parkinson’s and their supporters to engage directly in the mission for new therapies and a cure.
For additional information about Fox Trial Finder, visit foxtrialfinder.michaeljfox.org For information about The Michael J. Fox Foundation, visit http://www.michaeljfox.org or at http://www.facebook.com/michaeljfoxfoundation
ABOUT THE MICHAEL J. FOX FOUNDATION FOR PARKINSON’S RESEARCH
As the world’s largest private funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding more than $250 million in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson’s disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. Now through December 31, 2012, all new, returning and increased giving to The Michael J. Fox Foundation will be matched on a dollar-for-dollar basis with the $50-million Brin Wojcicki Challenge, launched by Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki.
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