What we do, what we will not claim, and where the limits are.

• You may decline to take part in research for any reason, or no reason.
• You may stop participating at any time.
• Declining or withdrawing does not affect your routine medical care, your relationship with your physician, or any benefits you are otherwise entitled to.
• You may ask questions at any point and receive an answer you can understand.
• You may bring a family member, friend, or your own physician into any discussion.
• You may request information in plain language, larger text, or with interpretation.
• You may ask who is paying for the study, who the investigator is, and who reviewed it.

Consent is a conversation that happens before any study procedure. It covers the study's purpose, what you would be asked to do, how long it lasts, known and possible risks, potential benefits, alternatives including choosing not to participate, how your information is used, and who to contact.

You may take the document home and take as long as you need. Signing is not the end of it: if something changes that could affect your decision, you should be told and asked again.

Nothing on this website, and no feature in the participant app, is informed consent or a substitute for it.

In a study, research information generally includes what you tell the research team, results of study assessments, and records required by the protocol. Studies typically use a code rather than your name in the data sent to a sponsor, while the site keeps the link between the code and your identity in its own records.

Research records are usually kept for a defined retention period required by regulation or the study agreement. That is why deletion of research information cannot always be promised, even if you withdraw. If you withdraw, no new study information is collected about you going forward; information already collected may need to be retained.

Why am I being asked for this? Any future field asking for sensitive information will carry a short explanation beside it stating why it is needed, whether it is optional, and who will see it.

Today, in this prototype:

• No account system, medical questionnaire, or screening intake is enabled.
• Forms shown on this site are demonstrations. They do not transmit or store what is typed into them.
• All study, participant, and dashboard content on this site is fictional sample data.

Production components are being designed around:

• Least-privilege, role-based access with named approvals
• Encryption in transit and at rest, and secure session management
• Audit trails for access to participant information
• Data minimization — collecting the least information needed for a defined purpose
• Defined retention and disposal, vendor oversight, and incident-response procedures
• Separation of public website systems from any clinical system holding participant information

We will describe each of these as implemented only once it is actually implemented in the deployed system.

In a live study, access would be limited to people with a defined need, which may include:

• The investigator and delegated research staff working on your study
• Sponsor or CRO monitors, who review records to verify the study was conducted properly
• The reviewing ethics board or IRB
• Regulatory authorities during an inspection
• Central laboratories or other study vendors handling specific study assessments

Limits of confidentiality. Confidentiality is strong but not absolute. Information may be disclosed where required by law, in response to a legal process, to report a safety concern, or where reporting is legally required, such as certain communicable diseases or suspected abuse. Consent forms describe these situations for the specific study.

Third parties. We do not sell participant information, and we do not use participant information for unrelated marketing. Any future vendor with access would be under a written agreement limiting use to the stated purpose.

You can raise a concern about a study, a staff member, how you were treated, or your information — and you can do it without giving up participation and without affecting your care.

1. Tell the research team or contact the ACM President's office directly.
2. You receive acknowledgment of the concern and a named person responsible for following up.
3. The concern is reviewed, documented, and escalated where required — including to the investigator, the sponsor, or the reviewing ethics board when applicable.
4. You are told what was found and what, if anything, changed.
5. You may also contact the reviewing IRB for your study independently. Its contact details are on the consent form you were given.

Advanced Cellular Mechanics — Mobile, Alabama
(251) 455-6300

Please do not send medical records, test results, or detailed health information by email. Email is not a secure channel. Contact page