Palm, Inc. and PHT Corp., a provider of Electronic Patient Diaries (EPDs) for the collection and management of clinical data, announced that PHT has purchased 4,650 Palm m515 handhelds. Mobile medical researchers now can record observations for a clinical study on more than 21,000 bed-ridden deep vein thrombosis (DVT) patients using PHT’s solution running on the Palm m515 handheld. PHT has purchased more than 17,000 Palm handhelds since December 2001.

Participating physicians and researchers who make house calls to the DVT patients will use the Palm handhelds with PHT’s solution, called SitePad, to input critical medical data onsite. With this portable solution, patient symptoms such as swelling and pain, fever and rapid heart rates are captured, sorted and analyzed in real time. Reactions to and effects of treatments are also duly noted and saved. This mobile solution saves researchers time and reduces errors associated with paper diaries, giving medical research facilities accurate and attributable clinical trial data in electronic form for regulatory approval.