IgniteData
Redefining Clinical Research with Seamless EHR Integration and Smart Automation
Get in touch
Background
In 2020, as the clinical research landscape was upended by the global pandemic, the demand for faster, more cost-effective studies surged. With stretched resources and increasing pressure on clinical staff, the industry needed a smarter, more scalable way to manage trials. IgniteData, a DigiHealth start-up based in Reading, recognised this as a chance to do more than just optimise the status quo. Backed by government innovation funding through Innovate UK, the team envisioned a complete shift in how data is captured and clinical studies are conducted. The result would be Archer — a transformative platform designed to reduce friction, improve accuracy, and streamline research delivery. To bring this vision to life, IgniteData partnered with 6B as their technical development team.
The Opportunity
At the core of the challenge was an outdated process that slowed everything down. Clinicians were juggling two systems: one displaying a patient’s Electronic Health Records (EHR), the other hosting the clinical trial data fields. Each individual data point had to be manually searched for, copied, and entered into the trial system — a time-consuming and error-prone process. This not only delayed research progress but placed a significant administrative burden on already overstretched clinical staff. IgniteData saw a clear opportunity to automate this data transfer, improve accuracy, and integrate seamlessly with widely used EHR systems such as Epic, Cerner, and AllScripts. The goal was to build a system that would reduce reliance on manual input, raise the quality of data being collected, and enable integration with multiple EDC (electronic data capture) research platforms for greater insight.
The Solution
6B took on a dual role as both consultant and development partner, contributing from early feasibility scoping through to back-end delivery of the Archer platform. The project centred on three success principles: understanding end-user workflows, maintaining close stakeholder collaboration, and shaping the product roadmap with ongoing strategic input. The technical challenge was considerable, particularly around building integrations that could support different EHR form structures and dynamic clinical trial configurations — such as lab selection within the trial setup. On the back-end, the system was designed for interoperability, handling real-time data extraction from hospital systems and secure transfer into EDC platforms. Archer was engineered with enterprise-grade security, complying with ISO27001, NHS Digital Toolkit, GDPR, HIPAA, Cyber Essentials, and FDA 21 CFR Part 11 standards. To keep the experience intuitive for users, the front-end of Archer launches directly within the hospital’s EHR system, so clinicians never need to leave their existing environment to use the tool.
The Impact
The launch of Archer has significantly reshaped how participating clinical sites conduct research. Manual data entry has been reduced by 85%, dramatically improving data quality and freeing up valuable time for clinical teams. Trial setup times have accelerated, with processes that once took hours now completed in minutes. By embedding itself within clinical workflows and automating what were previously manual, error-prone tasks, Archer has enabled faster, more accurate research — and delivered on its mission to modernise the clinical trial process. For IgniteData, this marks the beginning of a broader digital transformation in clinical research; for trial teams, it’s a smarter, faster, and more efficient way to do vital work.
“6B Digital have been an outsourced development partner for IgniteData for the past 3 years, working on several web, design and system build projects. Over the course of our time working with 6B Digital they have continued to grow in both size and professional maturity. This is a testament to their ability to listen, learn and adapt quickly – a key skill when trying to run agile development projects.”
– Richard Yeatman, Chief Technical Officer, IgniteData