An eClinical Solutions alternative: collect the data first, then decide what to aggregate
eClinical Solutions is described as a clinical data platform that pulls many sources together for review and analytics. Capture sits earlier in the chain: the system where the study data is captured. This page helps you decide which problem you actually have.
- Neutral comparison
- No vendor pricing claims
- Free sandbox
Free sandbox · No credit card · 21 CFR Part 11 compliant
| eClinical Solutions | Capture | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Ask vendor: data aggregation, review, analytics | Capture study data at the source |
| Sites enter data directly | Ask vendor | Yes, eCRF, ePRO and eConsent |
| One audit trail from entry | Ask vendor | Yes, field-level, append-only |
| Hands-on trial before contract | Ask vendor | Free sandbox |
| Priced in writing for your scenario | Request quote | Pricing page |
The short version
- eClinical Solutions (the company behind the elluminate platform) describes elluminate as an end-to-end clinical data platform that consolidates clinical and operational data from many sources for review, standardisation and analysis. Its own materials name components for collaborative data review, analytics, sample tracking, protocol deviations, risk-based monitoring and CTMS. Branding has changed over time, so confirm the current product line with the vendor.
- Capture is the data capture side: EDC, eCRF builder, ePRO, eConsent and randomization in one system with one audit trail, with a free sandbox.
- These are different layers. If your sponsor or CRO already collects data elsewhere and you need to unify it, an aggregation platform is the question. If you are still choosing where sites and participants enter data, an EDC is.
- Not to be confused with eClinicalOS, a separate vendor covered on eClinicalOS alternatives.
- This page makes no pricing, rating or customer-count claims about eClinical Solutions. Ask the vendor to quote your scenario in writing.
Two layers
Data aggregation and data capture are different purchases
A clinical study produces data in several places: the EDC, a central laboratory, imaging reads, wearables, a safety database and operational trackers. An aggregation or clinical data platform is aimed at bringing those feeds into a single reviewable store so that data managers, medical reviewers and statisticians see one picture. That is the space eClinical Solutions describes for elluminate in its press material.
A data capture system is where primary data is born. Sites key visit data, participants complete questionnaires and sign consent, and every entry is time-stamped, attributed and reasoned. Capture does this in one platform, so the audit trail starts at entry and does not need to be stitched across modules.
For a single early-phase study or a small portfolio, the capture layer is usually the first decision and the aggregation layer is a later one, if it is needed at all. For a sponsor running many studies with many external data vendors, the order can flip. Both situations are legitimate, and the questions below are designed to tell them apart.
Capture does not claim to ingest and harmonise arbitrary third-party feeds, and this page does not suggest it replaces an aggregation platform. It offers CSV and Excel exports with a data dictionary, and SDTM datasets as SAS XPT files with Define-XML, so data can leave Capture in structured form for whatever sits downstream.
Evaluation
Questions to put to eClinical Solutions and any capture vendor
Send the same list to each vendor and keep the answers in writing. Vendor columns are deliberately left for you to fill in.
| Topic | Question | What Capture offers for comparison |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Which parts of our data flow does this product own: capture, aggregation, review, analytics, monitoring? | Capture owns capture: eCRF, ePRO, eConsent, randomization, queries and the audit trail. |
| Sources | Which of our data sources can it take in, how, and who builds each feed? | Data entered in Capture is already in one study. Ask any aggregation vendor for the feed list in writing. |
| Provenance | Can we trace a number in a report back to who entered it, when, and what it replaced? | Field-level audit trail with user, timestamp, old value, new value and reason; append-only and exportable. |
| Cleaning | Where are queries raised and answered, here or in the source system? | Edit checks raise auto-queries at entry; one query list with status and priority. |
| Validation | What validation documentation supports our own validated use? | Enterprise customers receive documentation to support sponsor validation and UAT; ask for scope. |
| Time to first use | How long from signature to a working environment on our protocol? | Sign up, build or upload the protocol for an AI draft, test in the free sandbox before going live. |
| Exit | What do we receive at lock and if we leave? | CSV/Excel with data dictionary, audit trail export, SDTM as SAS XPT with Define-XML. |
| Total cost | What are all charges over 24 months for our studies? | See the pricing page for current terms; ask others for equivalent detail. |
Capture rows come from the Capture product pages. Do not read the empty vendor side as a statement about eClinical Solutions.
See what a capture-first study looks like
Upload your protocol to the free sandbox, review the AI draft, and enter sample data. No card, no time limit.
Provenance
Data that is traceable before it is aggregated
Whatever platform later combines your sources, its numbers are only as defensible as the capture step beneath them. In Capture every field change is written by the database with the user, time, previous value, new value and a reason, and the trail cannot be edited through the interface. That gives anyone downstream a clean record to join to.
- One audit row per changed field, append-only.
- Repeating rows such as concomitant medications carry their own trail.
- The trail is always exportable for reviewers and inspectors.
Weight changed 68.0 to 68.5 kg
Site coordinator · Reason: Transcription error
Query Q-0014 answered on Weight
Site coordinator · Reason: Source checked
Vital signs form locked
Data manager · Reason: Visit cleaned
Where the work happens
Stitched sources versus capture in one place
Decision aid
Which one do you shortlist?
You have no EDC yet for this study
Start with a capture system. Test Capture in the sandbox before any aggregation purchase.
Your CRO already runs the EDC and you need cross-source review
An aggregation platform is the relevant comparison; ask for your CRO's feed list.
You run a handful of studies with a small data team
Weigh the cost and setup of a second layer against exports from a single system.
You need participant-reported data in the same trail
Prefer a platform where ePRO and eConsent are native to the study.
You plan statistical programming outside the platform
Check export structure first: CDISC SDTM export software.
Process
A three-week evaluation plan
- 1
Week 1: write the data map
List every source in your study and who owns it. This shows whether you have a capture problem, an aggregation problem or both.
- 2
Week 2: test capture on one visit
Build one visit in the Capture sandbox with an edit check and a calculated field, and time it.
- 3
Week 3: ask vendors the same written questions
Send the table above to each vendor, then compare scope, time to first use, exit and 24-month cost.
Is Capture an alternative to eClinical Solutions?
Partly. Capture is a data capture platform (EDC, ePRO, eConsent, randomization). eClinical Solutions describes elluminate as a platform that aggregates and analyses data from many sources. They overlap only where a team might use a platform to review study data; they sit at different layers.
What is elluminate?
It is the clinical data platform from eClinical Solutions. According to the company's own materials it consolidates clinical and operational data and offers review and analytics components. Product naming has changed over time, so confirm the current line-up with the vendor.
Is eClinical Solutions the same as eClinicalOS?
No. They are different companies with different products. We have a separate page on eClinicalOS alternatives.
Can I export Capture data for an aggregation platform?
You can export CSV or Excel files with a data dictionary, raw and decoded, and SDTM datasets as SAS XPT with Define-XML. Confirm with the receiving platform which format it expects.
How much does eClinical Solutions cost?
We do not quote competitor pricing because it is not published in a form we can verify. Ask for a written quote for your scenario.
Is Capture compliant for regulated studies?
Capture is ISO 27001 certified, 21 CFR Part 11 compliant, GDPR compliant, HIPAA compliant and ICH GCP E6(R3) compliant, with EU and US data hosting. The sponsor still owns validated use of the system for its studies.
Can I try Capture before I talk to sales?
Yes. The free sandbox includes the full feature set with no credit card and no time limit. You pay only when you go live with real participants.
Test the capture layer before you buy the second one
Build a study in Capture, free. No credit card.