Clario Alternative: Collective Minds Research vs. Clario in Medical Imaging Trials

For medical imaging clinical trials, pharmaceutical sponsors are often presented with two distinct operational models. On one side stands Clario, the industry’s consolidated leader for multi-endpoint data collection. On the other stands Collective Minds Research, a specialized cloud platform focused exclusively on imaging velocity and connectivity.

Both organizations serve the clinical research market effectively but solve different problems for different types of trials. This article provides an objective, side-by-side analysis of their respective capabilities, helping study teams determine which partner aligns best with their specific protocol requirements.

The Core Distinction

• Clario is best suited for broad, multi-endpoint trials. Its primary strength lies in its ability to bundle medical imaging with cardiac safety, respiratory, and eCOA (electronic Clinical Outcome Assessment) services under a single, global contract. It represents the "integrated suite" approach.

Collective Minds Research is best suited for imaging-critical trials. Its primary strength lies in its specialized infrastructure that connects directly to hospital modalities for real-time data access and global radiologist collaboration. It represents the "best-of-breed" approach.

Clario: The Power of Integration and Scale

Formed through the merger of ERT and Bioclinica, Clario has established itself as a cornerstone of the global clinical trial infrastructure. Currently backed by Nordic Capital and Astorg (with a planned acquisition by Thermo Fisher Scientific announced in late 2025), Clario offers a level of scale and regulatory heritage that is often a requirement for massive Phase III studies.

Comprehensive Endpoint Management

Clario’s most significant advantage is its breadth. For sponsors running complex global trials, Clario can serve as a single vendor for nearly all patient data streams. A study team can contract Clario for Cardiac Safety (ECG), Respiratory (Spirometry), Precision Motion, and Medical Imaging simultaneously. This integration simplifies vendor management for procurement teams and allows for unified data transfers to the sponsor’s data lake.

Standardized Intake with SMART Submit

Clario utilizes a proprietary web-based submission tool called SMART Submit. This technology is designed to ensure rigorous compliance at the point of entry. It applies over 150 automated edit checks to DICOM files before they leave the site, verifying that data meets protocol specifications (e.g., correct slice thickness, de-identification rules). This structured workflow provides a high degree of standardization, ensuring that data arriving at the core lab is consistent across thousands of global sites. 

You might also like to read: Complete Guide to Imaging Core Labs in Clinical Trials

Deep In-House Expertise

With a heritage dating back to Bioclinica, Clario maintains a robust internal scientific team. Their Medical Imaging division employs over 30 physicians and 35 scientists internally, supported by a network of hundreds of board-certified radiologists. This internal capacity allows them to handle massive volumes of data with a structured, "factory-like" consistency that is essential for regulatory approval in large-scale indications like Alzheimer’s or metabolic disease.

Collective Minds Research: The Speed of Connectivity

Collective Minds takes a different approach, focusing less on breadth and more on the depth and speed of the imaging workflow itself. Built on modern cloud-native architecture, the platform is designed to remove the friction associated with traditional image transfer and review.

Instant Data Access (Direct Integration)

While traditional workflows rely on site staff to manually upload files, Collective Minds leverages its proprietary Connect technology. This solution integrates directly with the imaging site’s PACS or modality, creating a secure pipeline that streams data to the central platform as soon as it is acquired. This "zero-click" approach reduces the administrative burden on site coordinators and allows central reviewers to begin quality control (QC) almost immediately, significantly shortening the feedback loop to the site.

A Pre-Connected Global Ecosystem

Unlike traditional vendors that must build site relationships from scratch for each trial, Collective Minds leverages a massive, pre-existing ecosystem. This "warm network" consists of two distinct elements that accelerate study startup:

• The Expert Community: As of early 2026, the platform hosts a community of over 35,000 radiologists and imaging experts.
• The Infrastructure: The network includes more than 300 pre-connected sites already equipped with the Connect edge gateway. Because these sites have established legal, privacy, and data sharing agreements in place, new trials can often bypass the lengthy technical and contractual setup phases, allowing data collection to begin weeks or months earlier than industry standards.

Unified, Real-Time Visibility

Because the Collective Minds platform was built as a single, unified codebase, it offers exceptional transparency. Sponsors can log in and view the real-time status of every image in the pipeline—from the moment it leaves the scanner to the moment it is locked by the reader. This "glass box" approach allows clinical operations teams to proactively manage site performance and identify bottlenecks before they impact trial timelines.

Collective Minds Research pipeline builder screen, the core of building the medical imaging clinical trial logic.

Strategic Selection: When to Choose Which?

The decision between Clario and Collective Minds Research often comes down to the specific strategic priorities of the trial.

Introduction to Collective Minds Research for CROs and Pharma.

Things You Might Be Wondering 

Can I use Collective Minds Research if I am already using Clario for eCOA or Cardiac Safety?

Yes. It is common for sponsors to adopt a "best-of-breed" strategy. In this model, a sponsor might use Clario to manage broad endpoints like eCOA (electronic Clinical Outcome Assessments) and cardiac safety to leverage their global scale, while simultaneously carving out the medical imaging component to Collective Minds Research. This allows the study to benefit from Clario’s integrated data collection for safety endpoints while utilizing Collective Minds’ specialized speed and radiologist network for the critical imaging efficacy data.

How does the site experience differ between the two platforms?

The primary difference lies in the level of automation.

• Clario typically uses SMART Submit, a web-based portal. Site coordinators manually export images from their PACS, anonymize them, and upload them via a web browser. This process is highly standardized and familiar to many sites, ensuring rigorous data entry compliance.
• Collective Minds often uses Connect, a gateway installed at the site. This technology integrates directly with the modality or PACS, allowing images to be "pushed" to the cloud automatically or with a single click. This reduces manual data entry for site staff and accelerates transfer times, though it requires an initial (often pre-existing) technical handshake.

Are both platforms fully validated for regulatory submissions (FDA/EMA)?

Yes. Both companies operate under fully validated Quality Management Systems (QMS) compliant with global regulations, including 21 CFR Part 11, GDPR, and HIPAA.

• Clario has a decades-long track record of supporting pivotal Phase III trials and regulatory approvals across all major therapeutic areas.
• Collective Minds Research is also fully validated for regulatory trials and provides the necessary audit trails, electronic signatures, and data integrity controls required for FDA and EMA submissions.
  
  

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Reviewed by Pilar Flores Gastellu on February 10, 2026