Machine learning and natural language processing in clinical trial eligibility criteria parsing: a scoping review

Automatic eligibility criteria parsing in clinical trials is crucial for cohort recruitment leading to data validity and trial completion. Recent years have witnessed an explosion of powerful machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) models that can streamline the patient accrual process. In this PRISMA-based scoping review, we comprehensively evaluate existing literature on the application of ML/NLP models for parsing clinical trial eligibility criteria. The review covers 9160 papers published between 2000 and 2024, with 88 publications subjected to data charting along 17 dimensions. Our review indicates insufficient use of state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) models in the analysis of clinical protocols.