CLINICAL TRIAL

n. medical research, medical studies; research study; experiment carried out on human beings in order to evaluate the comparative efficacy of two or more therapies (Medicine)

In health care, a clinical trial is a comparison test of a medication or other medical treatment (such as a medical device), versus a placebo (inactive look-a-like), other medications/devices, or the standard medical treatment for a patient's condition. Clinical trials vary greatly in size: from a single researcher in one hospital/clinic to an international multicenter study funded by a pharmaceutical company with over 100 participating hospitals on several continents. The number of patients tested can range from fewer than 50 to thousands.
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Noun
1. a rigorously controlled test of a new drug or a new invasive medical device on human subjects; in the United States it is conducted under the direction of the FDA before being made available for general clinical use
(synonym) clinical test
(hypernym) test, trial, run
(hyponym) phase I clinical trial, phase I

A type of research study that uses volunteers to test new methods of screening, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of a disease. Also called a clinical study.