Image: Linda Nordling for professional news of research
Sarima 2025: Online Platform Rhinno Reports Dramatic Efficiency Improvements After Integration of Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is significantly reducing the time it takes for African committees to review clinical trial protocols.
Francis Kombe (pictured) is the CEO of Ethixpert, a registered South African nonprofit company that supports research ethics capabilities on the continent, said he has strengthened the Rhinno Ethics Online Review Platform, which was co-developed with AI earlier this year, supporting administrators and reviewers.
Early results suggest a significant improvement in turnaround, he said. Reviews can usually take more than six months, but AI support cuts the process down to one to four weeks, he said.
Low pressure
Over 30 committees from 10 countries use Rhinno and have been developed with European partners. Replaces paper and email systems, eases document management and reduces the burden on administrators.
Kombe explained that AI technology can produce a concise summary of long protocols, identify potential risks and benefits, and propose possible decisions for consideration. The final call remains in human reviewers, but AI provides structured support throughout the process, he pointed out.
“AI also empowers administrators after assigning this protocol, which allows reviewers to accept and edit suggestions from the AI and reject them entirely,” he said.
Positive response
Comb said the committee piloting the platform responded proactively. “We've seen a huge increase in terms of speed improvements. People were very fascinated by how AI was able to make very reasonable proposals.”
But the financial barriers remain, he said. The African Research Ethics Committee of approximately 12 people is intermittent users of the platform, as they cannot always afford annual subscription costs.
“Some committees cannot continue once funding is finished,” Combe noted. Still, he argued that AI-enabled platforms could be “crucial” to accelerate health research while maintaining ethical standards.
