Anomaly Detection and Cross-Center Consistency Assessment for Multi-Site Clinical Trial Quality Control

Main Article Content

Yisi Liu

Abstract

Multi-site clinical trials generate heterogeneous data requiring robust quality control mechanisms to ensure data integrity and regulatory compliance. This paper presents a comprehensive framework for automated anomaly detection and cross-center consistency assessment in distributed clinical trials. We propose a multi-layered detection approach combining rule-based thresholds, quantile drift analysis, and graph-structured consistency verification to identify protocol violations and data irregularities across trial sites. The methodology integrates dynamic threshold calibration with historical distributions, hierarchical relationship mapping between centers, investigators, and subjects, and ensemble aggregation techniques to construct audit-friendly evidence matrices. Experimental validation on multi-center trial datasets demonstrates superior detection accuracy, with sensitivity exceeding 87.3%, and early-warning capabilities that identify anomalies after analyzing only 23.5% of accumulated data, compared to 61.2% required by conventional approaches. The framework achieves 42.6% higher sensitivity compared to traditional monitoring approaches while maintaining computational efficiency suitable for real-time deployment. Implementation considerations address regulatory alignment with FDA and EMA guidelines, supporting repeatability, traceability, and auditability principles essential for clinical trial quality assurance.

Article Details

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Anomaly Detection and Cross-Center Consistency Assessment for Multi-Site Clinical Trial Quality Control. (2026). Journal of Science, Innovation & Social Impact, 2(1), 190-204. https://sagespress.com/index.php/JSISI/article/view/96

References

1. E. H. Weissler, T. Naumann, T. Andersson, R. Ranganath, O. Elemento, Y. Luo, and M. Ghassemi, “The role of machine learning in clinical research: Transforming the future of evidence generation,” Trials, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 537, 2021, doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05489-x.

2. Z. Dong and R. Jia, “Adaptive dose optimization algorithm for LED-based photodynamic therapy based on deep reinforcement learning,” Journal of Sustainability, Policy, and Practice, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 144–155, 2025.

3. I. Dayan, H. R. Roth, A. Zhong, A. Harouni, A. Gentili, A. Z. Abidin, and Q. Li, “Federated learning for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19,” Nature Medicine, vol. 27, no. 10, pp. 1735–1743, 2021, doi: 10.1038/s41591-021-01506-3.

4. S. de Viron, L. Trotta, H. Schumacher, H.-J. Lomp, S. Höppner, S. Young, and M. Buyse, “Detection of fraud in a clinical trial using unsupervised statistical monitoring,” Therapeutic Innovation & Regulatory Science, vol. 56, no. 1, pp. 130–136, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s43441-021-00341-5.

5. H. Chen, C. Gomez, C.-M. Huang, and M. Unberath, “Explainable medical imaging AI needs human-centered design: Guidelines and evidence from a systematic review,” npj Digital Medicine, vol. 5, no. 1, p. 156, 2022, doi: 10.1038/s41746-022-00699-2.

6. J. Petch, W. Nelson, S. Di, K. Balasubramanian, S. Yusuf, P. J. Devereaux, and S. I. Bangdiwala, “Machine learning for detecting centre-level irregularities in randomized controlled trials: A pilot study,” Contemporary Clinical Trials, vol. 122, p. 106963, 2022, doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2022.106963.

7. I. A. Omar, R. Jayaraman, K. Salah, M. C. E. Simsekler, I. Yaqoob, and S. Ellahham, “Ensuring protocol compliance and data transparency in clinical trials using blockchain smart contracts,” BMC Medical Research Methodology, vol. 20, no. 1, p. 224, 2020, doi: 10.1186/s12874-020-01109-5.

8. V. Churová, R. Vyškovský, K. Maršálová, D. Kudláček, and D. Schwarz, “Anomaly detection algorithm for real-world data and evidence in clinical research: Implementation, evaluation, and validation study,” JMIR Medical Informatics, vol. 9, no. 5, p. e27172, 2021, doi: 10.2196/27172.

9. H. Ibrahim, X. Liu, S. C. Rivera, D. Moher, A.-W. Chan, M. R. Sydes, M. J. Calvert, and A. K. Denniston, “Reporting guidelines for clinical trials of artificial intelligence interventions: The SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI guidelines,” Trials, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 11, 2021, doi: 10.1186/s13063-020-04951-6.

10. D. Schwabe, K. Becker, M. Seyferth, A. Klaß, and T. Schaeffter, “The METRIC-framework for assessing data quality for trustworthy AI in medicine: A systematic review,” npj Digital Medicine, vol. 7, no. 1, p. 203, 2024, doi: 10.1038/s41746-024-01196-4.

11. Z. Dong and F. Zhang, “Deep learning-based noise suppression and feature enhancement algorithm for LED medical imaging applications,” Journal of Science, Innovation & Social Impact, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 9–18, 2025.

12. C. Kim, S. U. Gadgil, and S.-I. Lee, “Transparency of medical artificial intelligence systems,” Nature Reviews Bioengineering, Sep. 2025, doi: 10.1038/s44222-025-00363-w.

13. M. Fronc, M. Jakubczyk, S. B. Love, S. Talbot, and T. Rolfe, “Central statistical monitoring in clinical trial management: A scoping review,” Clinical Trials, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 342–351, 2025, doi: 10.1177/17407745241304059.

14. M. Massella, D. A. Dri, and D. Gramaglia, “Regulatory considerations on the use of machine learning-based tools in clinical trials,” Health and Technology, vol. 12, no. 6, pp. 1085–1096, 2022, doi: 10.1007/s12553-022-00708-0.

15. A. Sadilek, L. Liu, D. Nguyen, M. Kamruzzaman, S. Serghiou, B. Rader, and J. Hernandez, “Privacy-first health research with federated learning,” npj Digital Medicine, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 132, 2021, doi: 10.1038/s41746-021-00489-2.

16. J. Chen, Y. Hu, M. Cai, Y. Lu, Y. Wang, X. Cao, and T. Fu, “TrialBench: Multi-modal AI-ready datasets for clinical trial prediction,” Scientific Data, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 1564, 2025, doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-05680-8.

17. B. Naderalvojoud and T. Hernandez-Boussard, “Improving machine learning with ensemble learning on observational healthcare data,” in AMIA Annual Symposium Proceedings, 2023, pp. 521–529.

18. Z. Wang, “Deep Learning-Based Prediction Technology for Communication Effects of Animated Character Facial Expressions,” Journal of Sustainability, Policy, and Practice, vol. 1, no. 4, pp. 105–116, 2025.