A Safety Study of the Auditory Brainstem Implant for Pediatric Profoundly Deaf Patients

August 25, 2025 updated by: Laurie Eisenberg

A Feasibility Study of the Placement, Use, and Safety of the Nucleus 24 Auditory Brainstem Implant in Non-Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) Pediatric Patients

Current treatment options for bilateral profoundly deaf children, diagnosed with inner ear anatomical abnormalities, are limited and, in the case of absent cochleas, non-existent. An auditory brainstem implant (ABI) places an electrode close to the auditory nucleus in the brainstem. Children aged 2 - 5 who are not candidates for a cochlear implant, or who did not demonstrate benefit from a cochlear implant, will be implanted with an ABI and followed for 1 year for safety and a total of 3 years for preliminary efficacy. This is a feasibility study to determine the safety of the ABI.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

The multichannel auditory brainstem implant (ABI) has now been used with some benefit in more than 1000 deaf patients worldwide who were not candidates for a cochlear implant (CI). For many years, the ABI was used primarily in adults deafened by Neurofibromatosis-Type 2 (NF2). During the past decade, ABI surgery has been safely performed on non-NF2 children outside of the United States, and results have shown great promise. The overall objective of this Phase I Clinical Trial grant is to evaluate safety in ten pediatric subjects who are not candidates for traditional cochlear implants due to cochlear nerve deficiency, cochlear aplasia, or cochlear ossification. These types of pathologies prevent normal transmission of auditory information between the cochlea and the brainstem. The University of Southern California, House Clinic, and Children's Hospital of Los Angeles are conducting a pediatric, non-NF2 ABI clinical with the Nucleus ABI device.

The Primary Aim is to describe the safety aspects of device implant surgery and 12-month use of an ABI in 10 pediatric patients (ages 2-6 years) with profound bilateral hearing loss not amenable to other treatments, such as hearing aids or cochlear implants. Surgical safety analysis is defined as no greater number of serious surgery-related adverse events than is commonly observed in non-NF2 adults undergoing craniotomy with or without an ABI and no more than four unexpected serious device-related adverse events for the 10 subjects during 12 months of follow-up. A Secondary Aim will determine whether or not the device provides patients with access to sound (thresholds of 50 dB HL) during a critical period for communication skills development. Efficacy is here defined as access to sound at a level and within the frequency range, known to be associated with speech.

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.
10

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.
  • Phase 1

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
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027
        • Children's Hospital Los Angeles
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90008
        • Keck School of Medicine of USC

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

2 years to 6 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Bilateral profound deafness due to cochlear aplasia, cochlear nerve deficiency, or ossification secondary to meningitis
  • If previously received a cochlear implant, must demonstrate lack of benefit from that device

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Medical contraindication to craniotomy/intracranial surgery
  • Severe cognitive or developmental delays

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: Device Feasibility
  • 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: Experimental
Device Implantation
Device: Auditory Brainstem Implant
Other Names:
  • Cochlear Corporation Nucleus 24

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
Primary Endpoint
Time Frame: 12-months post-device (auditory brainstem implant) successful activation
Surgical Safety The number of subjects successfully implanted.
12-months post-device (auditory brainstem implant) successful activation

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
Secondary Endpoint: Preliminary Efficacy
Time Frame: 3 years post-device activation
Access to sound at a level (dB HL) and with the frequency range (500-4000Hz), known to be associated with speech.
3 years post-device activation

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.
Laurie Eisenberg

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Southern California
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Huntington Medical Research Institutes

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: Laurie S. Eisenberg, PhD, Keck School of Medicine of USC
  • Principal Investigator: Eric Wilkinson, MD, Huntington Medical Research Institute

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.
March 1, 2014

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.
April 6, 2021

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.
April 6, 2021

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).
March 19, 2014

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.
March 28, 2014

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.
April 2, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

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.
September 15, 2025

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.
August 25, 2025

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.
August 1, 2025

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.
  • KSOM-ABI 001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

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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