Castor vs. the Coronavirus & COVID-19
For existing & new customers:
Castor will continue to deliver its services without interruption. Our teams have always been equipped to work from home, and can do so effectively. Phone lines have been routed to 2 applicable team members per phone line. Our availability during business hours will not be affected nor will the availability of our platform.
How Castor’s technology is supporting the fight against the Coronavirus outbreak and COVID-19?
Castor has joined the global fight against the Coronavirus by making our research data capture platform available for free for all non-profit COVID-19 research projects. We have developed ready for use eCRFs based on the WHO standard CRFs, to help researchers start their study or registry in less than an hour. The lack of quality data should not be the reason for a delay in finding a cure.
When novel strains of viruses like the Coronavirus (which causes COVID-19) emerge, data quickly becomes our most valuable asset. This was true during the recent Ebola outbreak, where we already had decades of research into the effects and possible treatments, and it is doubly true when considering the new strain of Coronavirus.
So what can we do to help?
As a leading medical research tool, it turns out we can do a lot, and frankly we have a moral obligation to do so. We can help drive access to standardized data in real-time, enable the use of AI across standardized datasets, and accelerate the discovery of evidence that can help manage the Coronavirus outbreak.
To effectively fight the new Coronavirus, we need to ensure our technology is available to anyone joining the fight, and that we’re contributing as many additional resources as possible to researchers involved. With this in mind, Castor will be doing the following:
- Castor is now free for all non-profit Coronavirus registries and studies globally.
- We created standardized forms based on WHO CRFs and they’ll help guarantee researchers can get up and running fast (attached).
- We’re providing a hosted FAIR data point with all related research catalogs (datasets). You can check it here.
If you are a non-profit researcher planning to capture data on COVID-19, send us a message at support@castoredc.com to receive your billing code or the standardized forms based on WHO CRFs. You can already start your study by registering here, and going through our online academy to become familiar with the platform.