In a clinical trial, $80$ patients are numbered from $1$ to $80$. The trial requires $40$ patients to be randomly selected for the intervention group. Which method is most appropriate for selecting the intervention group?

Assign the first $40$ patients to the intervention group

Assign based on alphabetical order of last names

Choose every second patient for the intervention group

Use a random number table to select $40$ unique numbers from $1$ to $80$