Hempstead

Researchers are evaluating an international registry called SYNERGY-AI that focuses on patients with advanced solid and blood cancers. The study aims to assess the feasibility and usefulness of an Artificial Intelligence-based precision oncology tool that helps match patients to clinical trials. This AI tool is supported by virtual tumor boards and is designed to impact clinical trial enrollment, financial outcomes, and potential patient results. The study uses a proprietary application programming interface connected to electronic health records to extract and analyze patient clinical data. This data is matched dynamically using machine learning algorithms to a database of available clinical trials, optimizing trial allocation. Patients voluntarily join the registry, and treatment decisions remain with their primary providers, guided by AI matching reports and virtual tumor boards. The study will last about 36 months, including roughly 24 months of enrollment and 12 months of follow-up data collection every three months. Participants provide clinical information without undergoing additional mandated tests or procedures. Researchers will monitor how many patients are eligible for and actually enroll in clinical trials over about one year after enrollment. They will also analyze the time to trial initiation and its effects on progression-free and overall survival. The goal is to enroll at least 50,000 patients worldwide and assess outcomes with regular data reviews and advanced statistical analysis.

Researchers are investigating how different caregiver training methods affect treatment results for children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). The study focuses on comparing direct versus indirect caregiver training combined with a therapy called Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC). Forty children aged between 2 years 5 months and 7 years 11 months diagnosed with CAS will participate. The goal is to understand how caregiver involvement influences speech accuracy, intelligibility, and communication function after treatment and during follow-up. All participants will receive DTTC therapy twice a week for eight weeks in a university clinic. Caregivers will first complete an online educational module about CAS and DTTC. Children will be randomly assigned to either a Direct Training Group, where caregivers receive coaching and practice DTTC with the child during sessions, or an Indirect Training Group, where caregivers only observe and receive general guidance for home practice. Both groups will practice at home with their children three times per week during treatment and increase to six times per week during a four-week follow-up. Throughout the study, researchers will collect data before, during, and after treatment, including follow-up at one and four weeks post-treatment, to measure changes in word accuracy. Evaluations will include treated and untreated word probes to assess gains and generalization. The total study duration is 16 weeks. Outcomes will focus on speech accuracy, phoneme accuracy, speech intelligibility, and functional communication to determine the impact of caregiver training approaches on therapy success.