A WEB-BASED DATA-COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR CLINICAL-STUDIES USING JAVA

Data collection in multi-centre controlled clinical trials is a major problem. We describe a web-based documentation system for data collect ion via the Internet we have developed in Java. It keeps both the plat form independent program (a Java applet) and the database on a single server to which the participating centres have access at any time. It is based on a three-tier model where client requests are handled and m onitored by an application server (a Java application). We show the ad vantages such a system has over the HTML/CGI combination which is ofte n used for database access, as well as possible extensions, e.g. conne ction to a data dictionary. Finally, we discuss the security problems which arise by the use of the Internet for data collection.