case-e

case-e is an open-source electronic case report form (eCRF) system for designing clinical studies, managing study workflows, and collecting structured clinical research data. It combines study configuration, form design, data capture, review, and export in a self-contained application that researchers and clinicians can deploy with minimal setup.
Clinical studies require more than digital forms. Research teams must define study protocols, participant groups, visits, assessments, and data requirements in a consistent and transparent way. case-e structures data collection around the study protocol and its planned assessments, supporting the workflow from initial study setup through data entry and review to the final export.
Studies can be created from scratch or based on reusable templates. An interactive form builder allows research teams to define standard and study-specific fields without developing a separate software implementation for every project. Supported field types include text, numbers, dates, selections, files, tables, and terms from biomedical ontologies. Conditional visibility, calculated fields, reminders, and configurable validation rules help teams create forms that reflect their study requirements.
During data collection, validation rules identify missing, inconsistent, or invalid entries. Role-based access controls determine which users may administer studies, enter data, or review collected information. Versioned study configurations preserve the structure under which information was recorded, while audit histories make relevant changes traceable. Dashboards provide an overview of study progress and collected data.
Data can be imported from tabular formats and exported in portable formats for quality control, reporting, archiving, and downstream analysis. BIDS-oriented export functionality helps prepare study data for integration with established research workflows. case-e also draws on DataLad Concepts for structured metadata and FAIR-oriented data management.
The software uses a modular frontend–backend architecture that separates the user interface, application programming interface, and data logic. This supports maintainability, independent development, and different deployment scenarios. Research groups can run case-e locally as a standalone application or deploy it on their own server infrastructure. A hosted eCRF service is also available within the ABCD-J platform.
By combining configurable study design, validated data collection, access management, versioning, auditability, and portable exports, case-e helps research teams collect and manage clinical study data in a structured, transparent, and reusable manner.

More information

Learn more about case-e, explore its source code, download a standalone release, or access the hosted service:

• case-e project overview on ABCD-J:
  https://www.abcd-j.de/software/case-e/

• case-e source code and documentation:
  https://github.com/Biomarker-Development-at-INM7/eCRF

• Standalone case-e downloads and releases:
  https://github.com/Biomarker-Development-at-INM7/case-e/releases

• Hosted case-e electronic case report form service:
  https://ecrf.inm7.de/