NCT06015178

Brief Summary

Solving medical scientific problems is a crucial driving force behind the advancement of medical disciplines. As the complexity of scientific questions increases, an increasing number of problems require interdisciplinary collaboration to be resolved. However, most medical researchers lack interdisciplinary background knowledge and require substantial time to systematically learn relevant knowledge and skills. Furthermore, the continuous emergence of new knowledge and skills emphasizes the importance of researchers' ability for autonomous learning in the medical field. Therefore, to promote the development of medical disciplines, there is an urgent need for an effective method to enhance researchers' self-directed learning abilities for conducting interdisciplinary research. The next-generation artificial intelligence language models, exemplified by ChatGPT, hold great potential in assisting researchers to access knowledge and information from various domains. Whether researchers can leverage such AI tools to enhance their self-directed learning abilities for conducting interdisciplinary research remains to be further explored. Additionally, concerns have been raised regarding the potential degradation of cognitive abilities through their use, although valid evidence is currently lacking. To investigate whether AI tools, represented by ChatGPT, can effectively assist medical researchers in conducting interdisciplinary research and whether their usage may negatively impact researchers' cognitive abilities, a randomized controlled trial is warranted. This trial aims to ascertain the potential benefits and risks associated with utilizing AI tools in the medical research domain.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
60

participants targeted

Target at P25-P50 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Aug 2023

Shorter than P25 for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

August 21, 2023

Completed
8 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

August 29, 2023

Completed
1 day until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

August 30, 2023

Completed
2 months until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

October 31, 2023

Completed
6 months until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

April 30, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

November 13, 2023

Status Verified

July 1, 2023

Enrollment Period

2 months

First QC Date

August 21, 2023

Last Update Submit

November 9, 2023

Conditions

Keywords

medical artificial intelligenceLarge Language Modelsuperiority randomized controlled trialSelf-Directed Learning

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

  • completion rate

    The number of people who completed the task within the given time / the total number of people in the group

    through study completion, an average of 9 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

  • Feasibility of the research program

    through study completion, an average of 9 months

Study Arms (2)

Intelligent Language Model Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Subjects must use the intelligent language model to complete the retrieval and protocol design execution of an interdisciplinary task, in addition to Google search, literature search and book query.

Other: Intelligent Language Model

Control Group

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Subjects can only use Google search, literature retrieval and book query, and cannot use any AI-driven conversational natural language processing tools to complete the retrieval and protocol design execution of an interdisciplinary task.

Other: control

Interventions

Subjects must use the intelligent language model to complete the retrieval and protocol design execution of an interdisciplinary task, in addition to Google search, literature search and book query.

Intelligent Language Model Group
controlOTHER

Subjects can only use Google search, literature retrieval and book query, and cannot use any AI-driven conversational natural language processing tools to complete the retrieval and protocol design execution of an interdisciplinary task.

Control Group

Eligibility Criteria

Age20 Years - 28 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

  • Junior ophthalmologist with 1-3 years of clinical experience
  • years old, regardless of gender
  • No prior experience in interdisciplinary research involving digital medicine
  • Self-reported a minimum of 20 hours of participation in this study during the trial period
  • Agree to participate in this study and sign informed consent

You may not qualify if:

  • Individuals with reading difficulties or reading disabilities
  • Reluctance to participate in this study

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University

Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, China

RECRUITING

Related Publications (1)

  • Shang Y, Lin Y, Li R, Shang Y, Li M, Zhao L, Jin L, Xu A, Liu D, Wu Q, Luo M, Pang J, Bi S, He Y, Xu M, Chen X, Cao Z, Yu S, Zhao J, Lai Y, Chen W, Lin H. The effectiveness of large language models in medical AI research for physicians: A randomized controlled trial. Cell Rep Med. 2025 Dec 16;6(12):102469. doi: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2025.102469. Epub 2025 Nov 26.

Central Study Contacts

wenben chen, Doctor

CONTACT

yuanjun shang, Doctor

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
OTHER
Intervention Model
PARALLEL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

August 21, 2023

First Posted

August 29, 2023

Study Start

August 30, 2023

Primary Completion

October 31, 2023

Study Completion

April 30, 2024

Last Updated

November 13, 2023

Record last verified: 2023-07

Data Sharing

IPD Sharing
Will not share

Locations