Microelectrode Brain-Machine Interface for Individuals With Tetraplegia

December 15, 2023 updated by: Michael Boninger
The purpose of this research study is to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of using two NeuroPort Arrays (electrodes) for long-term recording of brain activity.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Terminated

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Individuals with tetraplegia (paralysis caused by illness or injury that results in partial or total loss of use of the arms and legs) have intact brain function but are unable to move due to injury or disease affecting the spinal cord, nerves or muscles. Brain-machine interface (BMI) technology is based on the finding that with intact brain function, neural signals are generated even though they are not sent to the arms, hands and legs. By implanting electrodes in the brain, individuals can be trained to send neural signals which are interpreted by a computer and translated to movement which can then be used to control a variety of devices or computer displays.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
1

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
        • University of Pittsburgh

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Limited or no ability to use both hands due to cervical spinal cord injury or brainstem or spinal stroke
  • At least 1 year post-injury
  • Live within 1 hour of the University of Pittsburgh and be willing to travel to the University of Pittsburgh once per week for BMI training
  • Additional inclusion criteria must also be reviewed

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Certain implanted devices
  • Presence of other serious disease or disorder that could affect ability to participate in this study
  • Individuals who are immunosuppressed or who have conditions that typically result in immunocompromise
  • Additional exclusion criteria must also be reviewed

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Brain-Machine Interface Users
All participants enrolled in the study will undergo Implantation of NeuroPort Arrays in the motor cortex. There is no control group.
Device: Implantation of NeuroPort Arrays in the motor cortex
Two Blackrock Microsystems NeuroPort Arrays will be implanted in the motor cortex of study participants.
Other Names:
  • neuroprosthetic
  • brain-machine interface
  • brain-computer interface

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of Participants With Successful Implant
Time Frame: One year following array implantation
Number of participants who were implanted for at least one year without having to explant the device for safety reasons.
One year following array implantation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
7 Degree-of-freedom Movement by Neural Control
Time Frame: One year following array implantation
A modified Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) assessment for upper extremity performance was conducted to evaluate neural control of movement of a robotic prosthetic arm with 7 independent degrees of freedom controlled simultaneously. The degrees of freedom included: 3D translation of arm, 3D orientation of wrist, and 1D open/closing of hand. The participant used a brain-controlled robotic hand to do 9 tasks (out of 19). Each test item was timed and scored as 0 (no movement), 1 (task partly done), 2 (task done, but not correctly), or 3 (task done correctly). Movements that required more than 5 s to complete were scored as 2. The participant attempted each assessment three times and the best score was included. The total possible score ranged from 0 to 27 (i.e., max possible score of 3 each for 9 total tasks). A higher score indicates a better outcome.
One year following array implantation
10 Degree-of-freedom Movement by Neural Control
Time Frame: One year following array implantation
A modified ARAT was conducted to assess neural control of movement of a robotic prosthetic arm with 10 independent degrees of freedom, controlled simultaneously. Degrees of freedom included: 3D translation of arm, 3D orientation of wrist, and 4 degrees dictating hand shape, including pinch (flexion of thumb, index and middle fingers), scoop (flexion of ring and pinky fingers), finger abduction (of index, ring and little fingers), and thumb opposition. The participant used a brain-controlled robotic hand to do 9 tasks (out of 19). Test items were timed and scored as 0 (no movement), 1 (task partly done), 2 (task done, but not correctly), or 3 (task done correctly). Movements that required more than 5 s to complete were scored as 2. The participant attempted each assessment three times and the best score was included. The total possible score ranged from 0 to 27 (i.e., max possible score of 3 each for 9 total tasks). A higher score indicates a better outcome.
One year following array implantation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Michael Boninger

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Michael L Boninger, MD, University of Pittsburgh

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2011

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
November 26, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
November 26, 2022

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 25, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 31, 2011

First Posted (Estimated)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
June 2, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
January 9, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
December 15, 2023

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STUDY19030235

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

We may share de-identified data with collaborators.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Minimum of seven years after final reporting or publication

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Researchers interested in this topic at the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Chicago, and other centers

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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