The Global CMT Research Convention has always been a place where patients hear directly from the scientists and companies working on their behalf. This year, on Saturday, September 26 in Cambridge, MA, Patient Day goes a step further. It’s no longer just a day to listen. It’s a day to participate in important conversations about clinical trials and try new tools firsthand.

Step into the First Ever CMT Clinical Trial Fair

There are more active drug trials in CMT than ever before, and the Clinical Trial Fair puts that progress directly in front of you. For the first time, companies and research teams currently running or preparing CMT trials for therapies that are in development but not yet approved by regulators will be available for convention-goers to speak with directly. Get firsthand information on recruitment, risks, eligibility, and the ways clinical trials contribute to research. This experience will be combined with a Clinical Trials session featuring a company update on where current treatments stand in the development process, plus a firsthand account from a patient who has been through the Novartis trial.

Try the Technology That Could Shape Tomorrow’s Clinical Trials

Measuring CMT progression has long presented challenges. The disease has so many different ways of manifesting that it can be difficult to compare like to like. Patient-reported outcomes remain a strong gauge, but they carry the drawback of being subjective. DANCER, a CMTRF-funded tool built by Dr. Wolfgang Pernice at Columbia University, changes that. Dr. Pernice’s Digital Assessment of Natural Motion for Clinical Endpoint Research (DANCER) uses AI to build a full 3D picture of a person’s movement from nothing more than a smartphone video, tracking symptoms over time in a way that could be a critical strength for clinical trials. At the hands-on stations, you can try it yourself and see how a tool as simple as your own phone could help speed up future trials.

Get a Hearing Assessment

Hearing loss is an underappreciated part of CMT for many patients. At this year’s convention, you can get a hearing assessment on site, which connects directly to Saturday’s sessions on the link between hearing and CMT.

Registration for Patient Day is open now. Register here to join us September 26 in Cambridge, MA.