Personalized NFTs as a Trial Participation Incentive (AvatarDTx)

April 8, 2025 updated by: Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM)

A Pilot Study on the Use of Personalised Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Artwork Generated From Digital Therapeutics (DTx) as a Trial Participation Incentive (Avatar.DTx)

NFTs are blockchain-based digital and physical assets traded on digital marketplaces. Current and exploratory NFT use cases include art, collectibles, in-game items, real estate, ticketing, events, fintech, licenses, IDs, and healthcare. NFT marketplaces, online games, virtual worlds, and open-source coding platforms use NFTs to incentivize participation. In trials, where the effectiveness of financial remuneration to increase trial participation is unclear, NFTs could encourage involvement. Considering the increasing opportunities for blockchain technology and NFT use in both the economy and society, we present a pilot study protocol to gauge the interest and feasibility of using NFTs as payment for trial participants, the first of its kind to our knowledge. Additionally, as the global population ages and chronic diseases become more prevalent, innovative solutions to sustain engagement in longevity-focused interventions are needed. Harnessing CURATE.AI, an indication-agnostic artificial intelligence (AI) platform that modulates the intensity of interventions to generate truly personalized profiles - or digital avatars, we will develop N-of-1 learning trajectory profiles for fifteen healthy volunteers trained on the CURATE.DTx, a digital therapeutic (DTx) platform. The profiles will be artistically modified and minted for the participants in the Ethereum blockchain, whereafter the recipient can choose to keep, display, or trade their NFT. Through interviews, we will evaluate the interest and acceptability of NFTs as an incentive for trial participation. This pioneering exploration connects AI-driven personalized medicine with inventive blockchain solutions. Our research aims to advance the field of digital therapeutics and pave the way for novel approaches to patient-centered care and incentivization strategies in clinical trials.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

15

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy
  • Agree to audio-recording of the interview
  • Meet the cognitive criteria for adequate mental capacity as determined by the MMSE.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Difficulty to understand and read English (the DTx text and audio are in English)
  • Significant hearing impairment
  • Evidence/diagnosis of severe cognitive impairment
  • Inability to complete the study at the judgement of the investigators

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Avatar.DTx
DTx sessions: participants will interact with the DTx twelve minutes per day, three days per week, for ten weeks. We will obtain a personalized profile for each participant (relationship between training intensity and participant's performance). A digital artist will receive the profiles without personal or medical data and create fifteen unique artworks. The team, who will mint the artworks as NFTs on Ethereum and send them to the participants' digital wallets (or help them to set one up). The NFTs will be displayed on OpenSea. If the Ethereum blockchain stops its activity within two years of the NFT minting, the team will mint a new NFT for each participant in an alternative blockchain and compensate them with SGD150. After the last DTx session (regardless of study completion by the participant), a 60-minute interview will be conducted.
Device: CURATE.DTx sessions

Participants will interact with CURATE.DTx twelve minutes per day, three days a week, for ten weeks.

CURATE.DTx is a cognitive training DTx developed by our research team in The N.1 Institute for Health (N.1) and The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM). CURATE.DTx is comprised of CURATE.AI and a modified version of the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB), Online MATB.

CURATE.AI is a small data AI-derived platform that can dynamically personalize treatment by modulating drug dose or therapy intensity. We previously implemented CURATE.AI into Online MATB - the modernized, online version of MATB, a flight deck simulator program developed by NASA and the United States Air Force.

Behavioral: Interview
After the last DTx session (regardless of study completion by the participant), a 60-minute interview session will be conducted by a team member, either at the Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM) in person or via Zoom. All responses will be audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. We will use thematic analysis of anonymized transcripts to identify emerging or recurring themes. Data will be analyzed using NVivo. The analysis will begin with open/primary coding, where we will descriptively label data. Subsequently, we will group the labels into categories based on literature (i.e., secondary coding). These categories will then help create broader themes/assertions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Interest and Acceptability of Personalized NFTs as Incentives
Time Frame: At week 11 into the trial (after the participant's last completed DTx session).
Evaluated through semi-structured interviews conducted at the end of the study.
At week 11 into the trial (after the participant's last completed DTx session).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Dean Ho, PhD, The Institute for Digital Medicine (WisDM)

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

July 2, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 2, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 2, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

October 14, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 15, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

October 17, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 11, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 8, 2025

Last Verified

April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Avatar.DTx

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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