Pulmonary Function Using Non-invasive Forced Oscillometry (PUFFOR)

January 26, 2026 updated by: Colm Travers, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Pulmonary Function Using Non-invasive Forced Oscillometry Respiratory Testing: A Prospective Observational Study

The purpose of this observational study is to measure pulmonary function in term and preterm infants with and without pulmonary disease including respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, transient tachypnea of the newborn, meconium aspiration syndrome, and response to treatments given to newborn infants with lung diseases using a non-invasive airway oscillometry system.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

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

TremoFlo™ N-100 (For Investigational Use Only) Airwave Oscillometry System™ (THORASYS Thoracic Medical Systems Inc. Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a technology for measuring lung mechanics without patient effort. Pulmonary function testing using flow-volume and lung volumes is one of the most widely used tests to objectively measure lung function in adults. Such measurements are dependent on effort and coordination by the patient which is not possible for newborn infants. The minimum age for spirometry is typically 6 years to master the technique. Therefore, newborn infants usually require forced exhalation, flow interruption, and often sedation/anesthesia in order to obtain accurate pulmonary function measurements. Infant pulmonary function testing can be time-consuming and expensive to perform in newborn infants. This has limited the utilization of this potentially informative method of studying lung function. Measurements of lung function will be particularly informative during transition from having lungs filled with fluid during intra-uterine life to having lungs filled with air in extra-uterine life in preterm and term babies without lung disease, as well as in newborn infants with lung diseases including respiratory distress syndrome, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, transient tachypnea of the newborn, meconium aspiration syndrome, and after the effects of treatments given to newborn infants with lung diseases.

The TremoFlo device uses the forced oscillation technique during spontaneous infant breathing and notably does not require any sedation to perform. The forced oscillation technique measures lung function by superimposing a gentle multi-frequency airwave onto the infant's respiratory airflow while the infant breathes spontaneously. Only a short period of breathing is required to obtain a reliable measurement of airway resistance and reactance. Oscillometry has been successfully utilized to quantify lung function in asthmatic children and adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, but never previously in infants. This proposal brings this non-invasive technique of measuring lung function to the neonatal population to identify changes in respiratory mechanics between term and pre-term gestations and quantify fluctuations in infant lung function in response to disease progression and therapeutic intervention. The ease of oscillometry that only requires tidal breathing eliminates the need for patient cooperation and maneuvers that previously excluded lung function testing in the neonatal intensive care unit. This proposal will evaluate the feasibility and clinical value of oscillometry in newborns, both to detect changes in premature compared to full-term gestations as well as disease cohorts by introducing functional measures of lung function to bedside care.

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.
600

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 Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35249
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham

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

1 day to 2 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Infants with gestational age at least 22 weeks at birth
  • Infants off ventilator/continuous positive airway pressure ≥ 12 hours
  • Infants whose parents/legal guardians have provided consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Infants with major malformation
  • Infants with a neuromuscular condition that affects respiration
  • Infants with terminal illness
  • Infants with a decision made to withhold or limit support

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: Diagnostic
  • 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: Non-invasive forced airway oscillometry

Analyze lung function using forced airway oscillometry in preterm infants and term infants with and without lung disease with both cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons.

Aim 1: Lung function in term and preterm infants without lung disease (anticipated n=264) Aim 2: Lung function in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) who develop bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and preterm infants with RDS who do not develop BPD (anticipated n=264) Aim 3: Lung function measurements in infants with common neonatal lung diseases (including RDS, BPD, meconium aspiration syndrome, and transient tachypnea of the newborn) and controls without lung disease (anticipated n=570) Aim 4: Lung function in infants with lung disease before and after common therapeutic interventions
Device: Non-invasive forced airway oscillometry
This is a non-invasive device will measure lung function in spontaneously breathing infants. Infants will have a cushioned mask placed on his/her face and the device will take measurements as the infant breathes normally.

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
Area Under the Reactance Curve (AXR)
Time Frame: 40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
AXR as the measure of overall measure of reactance of the respiratory system quantified by oscillometry and measured in cmH2O/L
40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years

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
R7-20
Time Frame: 40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
Difference between resistance at 7 Hz and 20 Hz in the respiratory system quantified by oscillometry and measured in cmH2O·s/L
40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
R7
Time Frame: 40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
Resistance at 7 Hz in the respiratory system quantified by oscillometry and measured in cmH2O·s/L
40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
X7
Time Frame: 40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
Reactance at 7 Hz in the respiratory system quantified by oscillometry and measured in cmH2O·s/L
40 weeks' postmenstrual age or discharge until 2 years
Longer-term Pulmonary Outcomes
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
Severe morbidity: respiratory support including or CPAP or ventilation or tracheostomy; moderate morbidity: supplemental oxygen; treatment with daily pulmonary medications; ≥2 rehospitalizations for respiratory illness; ≥3 episodes of wheeze ≥2 weeks apart; mild morbidity: treatment with intermittent pulmonary medications; ≥2 episodes of wheeze ≥2 weeks apart; ≥2 medical visits for respiratory illness ≥2 weeks apart; 1 rehospitalization for respiratory illness)
Up to 2 years

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.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

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.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

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.
  • Study Director: Namasivayam Ambalavanan, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

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.
December 6, 2017

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.
October 21, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
May 1, 2027

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).
November 10, 2017

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.
November 14, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

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.
November 17, 2017

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 27, 2026

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.
January 26, 2026

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.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • IRB-300000296
  • K23HL157618 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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