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Press Release

MetroGnomo

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London – 22 March 2016

 Clinical Trial Records Move To Blockchain

The Computerised Life Events Assessment Record (CLEAR) project announced that it has begun recording information relevant to clinical trials on the MetroGnomo mutual distributed ledger (aka blockchain). The CLEAR project – led by Professor Antonia Bifulco – is developing an interactive online method for measuring stress based on life changes, events and ongoing difficulties. The distributed ledger is a development of Z/Yen’s metrognomo.com open-source timestamp service.

MetroGnomo provides an unchangeable authoritative record of trials data. Proof that a given piece of information exists is logged by a network of receivers to guarantee persistence and incorruptibility without revealing the information itself. Channel Island government, the States of Alderney, have agreed to operate a receiver until 2021 and to oversee MetroGnomo’s integrity.

Bob McDowall, Chairman of the Policy Finance Committee of the States of Alderney, notes:

"Logging and recoding clinical trials as a publicly available record is a very tangible evidence of the dynamic but simple uses of distributed ledgers."

The use of a distributed ledger allows scientific studies to benefit from more transparent data collection. Advanced applications utilize public-private key cryptography to grant access to the underlying data. Smart contracts can facilitate time or use limited access and revocability.

Professor Antonia Bifulco, CLEAR Principal Investigator, elaborates:

"Whilst distributed ledgers facilitate robust records worthy of trust, they also provide a straightforward channel to distribute operational data. This removes the need to grant external staff or auditors with access to sensitive onsite systems."

Executive Chairman Professor Michael Mainelli states:

"Z/Yen is actively working with a number of other parties within the clinical trials and medical records space. Future developments include health information, such as patient prescriptions, scans and medical passports."

MetroGnomo is handling over 20,000 clinical interactions each working day.



Notes to Editors

CLEAR Project
A three year ESRC funded collaboration between researchers from Middlesex University, Kings College London and Goldsmiths University to develop a new online Computerised Life Event Assessment Record (CLEAR). CLEAR is a development of the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS), which is a face-to-face interview developed in the 1970’s by Brown and Harris to record information about life events and difficulties that happen over a twelve month period. The new methodology – the Inter-Q – seeks to capture the benefits of both face-to-face and questionnaire approaches to measuring stress.
www.clearaboutstress.net

Z/Yen
Z/Yen is the City of London’s leading commercial think-do tank promoting societal advance through better finance and technology. Z/Yen helps organisations make better decisions about enhancing reward, controlling risk and increasing certainty. Z/Yen’s clients are in many sectors, most often where technology and finance try to achieve a social purpose. Z/Yen works with clients to discover, solve, and act on opportunities by managing programmes and projects, building systems, and creating collaborative communities. Z/Yen implemented its first mutual distributed ledgers (aka blockchains) in 1995.
www.zyen.com www.longfinance.net

States of Alderney
The States of Alderney is the legislative assembly of the Channel Island of Alderney, which remains a separate jurisdiction within the Bailiwick of Guernsey.  The main economic drivers on Alderney include business services, finance, eGaming, tourism and energy.   Previously the States of Alderney provided regulatory oversight for the InterChainZ research project, which developed mutual distributed ledgers for a variety of ‘use cases’ within financial services.
www.alderney.gov.gg