Proof of concept
Similarly, Pixar created several short films as proofs of concept for new techniques for water motion, sea anemone tentacles, and a slowly appearing whale in preparation for the production of Finding Nemo.
This use of proof of concept helps establish viability, isolate technical issues, and suggest an overall direction, as well as provide feedback for budgeting and other forms of internal decision-making processes.
[citation needed] In these cases, the proof of concept may mean the use of specialized sales engineers to ensure that the vendor makes a best-possible effort.
In both computer security and encryption, proof of concept refers to a demonstration that in principle shows how a system may be protected or compromised, without the necessity of building a complete working vehicle for that purpose.
Winzapper was a proof of concept which possessed the bare minimum of capabilities needed to selectively remove an item from the Windows Security Log, but it was not optimized in any way.
By contrast, a 'proof of technology' aims to determine the solution to some technical problem (such as how two systems might integrate) or to demonstrate that a given configuration can achieve a certain throughput.
[13] In early development it is not practical to directly measure that a drug is effective in treating the desired disease, and a surrogate endpoint is used to guide whether or not it is appropriate to proceed with further testing.
A new anti-hypertension drug could be shown to reduce blood pressure, indicating that it would be useful to conduct more extensive testing of long-term treatment in the expectation of showing reductions in stroke (cerebrovascular accident) or heart attack (myocardial infarction).
[citation needed] Phase I is typically conducted with a small number of healthy volunteers who are given single doses or short courses of treatment (e.g., up to 2 weeks).
Phase III studies involve larger numbers of patients—commonly multicenter trials—treated at doses and durations representative of marketed use, and in randomised comparison to placebo and/or existing active drugs.
Clinical trials can continue after marketing authorization has been received, for example, to better delineate safety, to determine appropriate use alongside other drugs or to investigate additional uses.
