About REMORA
The REmote MOnitoring of Rheumatoid Arthritis (REMORA) study will develop, test and evaluate a system for tracking daily symptoms in people living with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), where data are collected using a smartphone app and integrated into NHS electronic patient records.
REMORA1 and 1.5
A proof of concept study – REMORA1 – ran from 2015 to 2017, where 20 patients with RA tested the app over three months at Salford Royal Hospital in Greater Manchester.
The next study, REMORA1.5, also took place at Salford Royal Hospital between 2020 and 2021 to test whether the infrastructure could be scaled up and used across multiple hospital sites.
REMORA2
The final phase of the programme (REMORA2) started in October 2021.
It aims to demonstrate improvements in clinical outcomes for people living with RA, as well as evaluating cost-effectiveness and learning how similar systems can be successfully rolled out in the NHS. The research will involve 16 rheumatology departments in Greater Manchester and north-west London.
REMORA2 is split into two further phases.
Feasibility study
The first phase was a feasibility study. This took place between January 2023 and June 2023 in two hospitals in the Manchester region and demonstrated that patients liked using the app and their clinicians liked the extra information provided during a clinical consultation.
Clinical trial
The second phase is a clinical trial. This is taking place now. The trial involves 16 hospitals in the Greater Manchester and north-west London regions. We will test the REMORA app’s impact on the care received by RA patients and explore what it would take to allow access to the REMORA app across the NHS.
Taking part
As this is a research study, only patients who attend a hospital in the Greater Manchester or north-west London regions can take part. See a list of the hospitals taking part in the REMORA2 study.
If you decide to participate in the trial, you will not need to have any extra visits to the hospital or any extra tests above what your doctor performs as part of your usual care. If you agree to take part, we would like you to record your symptoms using our smartphone app for approximately 12 months.
The app is available for both Android and Apple (iOS) phones and tablets and can be downloaded from the app store or Google Play Store. Our study team at The University of Manchester will send you all the information you need to do this.
During your time taking part in the study, you will automatically receive prompts from the REMORA app to complete daily questions, such as how your pain is today, weekly questions, such as whether or not you’ve experienced a flare, and monthly questions about any disability caused by your RA.
The symptom information you enter can then be seen by your doctor at your next hospital appointment, and the app will display graphs showing changes in your symptoms over time. This means any periods of pain or discomfort between your hospital visits won’t be forgotten and the severity of the symptoms will be recorded for you to discuss with your clinician during the clinical consultation.
During the trial, support with using the app will be available from the study team at The University of Manchester. Our team of researchers also work closely with a group of patients who also suffer from RA. Further support from our patient partners is also available through the REMORA2 Patient-to-Patient Support initiative. Please email remora2@manchester.ac.uk if you would like to find out more about the initiative.
Contact us
For further details about what would be involved in the trial, please email the study team at The University of Manchester (remora2@manchester.ac.uk) or speak with your local doctor or research nurse at your next hospital appointment.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the study with one of our patient partners, please email remora2@manchester.ac.uk and one of our study team will let our patient partners know you would like some advice.
In the Information for participants section:
Contact Us
Email: remora2@manchester.ac.uk
