ActiGraph Digital Endpoint
Accelerator Research Grant

Wearable and sensor-based digital health technologies (DHTs) have been used in clinical research for more than 30 years. Their ability to provide objective and real-life health outcomes offers great promise to transform clinical trials with higher efficiency and patient-centricity. Despite years of research behind this promise, the adoption and acceptance of DHT for clinical endpoints is extremely low in regulated clinical trials. A significant barrier is the lack of fit-for-purpose validation, i.e., the validation of the technologies, especially the data processing algorithms, for the intended use in the clinical populations. While many technologies and algorithms have been validated in the healthy population, their validity in clinical populations is less established. This validation task can also be challenging to tackle, as it requires multidisciplinary expertise across engineering, data science, and clinical science.

Recognizing this barrier, ActiGraph is pleased to announce a special funding and partnership mechanism to close this evidence gap and accelerate the use of digital endpoints in the quest for new and better treatments. This funding mechanism supports projects that aim to validate the use of DHT data as outcome measures in clinical populations where the validation from healthy populations might not apply. For example, the validation of walking and gait algorithms in clinical conditions associated with abnormal gait patterns such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or arthritis.

We invite rigorous research proposals for planned studies or secondary data analyses that examine the validity of digital measures as compared to established ground truth measures. The digital measures might include one or more of the following domains: gait, sleep, falls, upper limb mobility or other outcomes of significant clinical relevance. DHT used here might include one or more of the following sensor technologies: accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, photoplethysmography, and barometer.

Funding Details

ActiGraph will select up to 5 proposals and support each proposal with up to $10,000 and up to 5 wearable DHT devices and supporting software for use. ActiGraph will also provide engineering and analytical resources to support the completion of the projects. Proposed research projects should be completed within a 1-year period, and an interim progress report is required for grantees to remain in good standing.

Selection Process

ActiGraph will select and award the grants through a two-stage competitive application and selection process. At the initial stage, researchers are invited to submit a one-page letter of intent and their Curriculum Vitae by October 15, 2022. ActiGraph Review Committee will review all submissions and notify all applicants by October 31, 2022 as to whether they have been selected to submit a full proposal. If selected, a detailed request will be sent at that time. The full proposal will be 5 single-spaced pages maximum, including figures and tables and excluding references and appendices. Full proposals will be due November 30, 2022 and grantees will be announced in December and expected to start the project no later than 3 months after awarded funds.

Submission Process

Letters of intent must be submitted to DEARgrant@theactigraph.com by 9 PM EST on October 15, 2022. Please include “ActiGraph Digital Endpoint Accelerator Research Grant” and the last name of the applicant in the email title. All applicants must submit a letter of intent to be considered for an invitation to submit a full proposal.

The letter of intent should be no longer than 1 page excluding references and include:

• Project Title
• Abstract
• Project description including:
• Explanation of the overall aims of the project
• Brief description of the methodological approach
• Significance and potential impact of the work

Please also include the Curriculum Vitae or NIH-style biosketch of key personnel in the initial submission. To be eligible, the Principal Investigator must have completed a research or clinical doctorate, or be a doctoral student under the supervision of a senior mentor; all must have sufficient experience and institutional resources to complete the proposed project.