Abstract: The invention relates to systems for structuring clinical trials protocols into machine interpretable form. A hybrid human and natural language processing system is used to generate a structured computer parseable representation of a clinical trial protocol and its eligibility criteria. Furthermore, a web-based search engine to allow patients to find relevant clinical trials is developed. It works by asking a series of questions, which are generated dynamically such that previous answers will decide which question is generated next. Using a probabilistic model of trial suitability, questions are prioritized so as to minimize the total question burden. Furthermore, data collected across multiple trials is used to optimize the model and to optimize the design of future clinical trials.

Abstract: The invention relates to systems for structuring clinical trials protocols into machine interpretable form. A hybrid human and natural language processing system is used to generate a structured computer parseable representation of a clinical trial protocol and its eligibility criteria. Furthermore, a web-based search engine to allow patients to find relevant clinical trials is developed. It works by asking a series of questions, which are generated dynamically such that previous answers will decide which question is generated next. Using a probabilistic model of trial suitability, questions are prioritized so as to minimize the total question burden. Furthermore, data collected across multiple trials is used to optimize the model and to optimize the design of future clinical trials.