A Novel Medical System for Quantitative Diagnosis and Personalized Precision Botulinum Neurotoxin Injection in Chronic Pelvic Pain Management

August 14, 2025 updated by: Nicholas Dias, HillMed Inc.

An Novel Medical System for Quantitative Diagnosis and Personalized Precision Botulinum Neurotoxin Injection in Chronic Pelvic Pain Management

The purpose of this study is to evaluate if it is possible to use intravaginal high-density surface electromyography to guide Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injection to treat pelvic floor muscle overactivity that complicates Chronic Pelvic Pain (CPP).

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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

The management of pelvic floor overactivity (PFOA) using focal BoNT injection has been gaining clinical interest. Evidence has shown that BoNT injections to the levator ani in patients with CPP generated a greater than 50% improvement in symptoms at least 72% of the time, suggesting a promising efficacy of BoNT therapy. The current clinical standard for BoNT injection employs a fixed injection template or the manual palpation of a contracted muscle, followed by an injection towards the palpating finger. As such, the injection is highly subjective, operator-dependent, variable, and not tailored to individual patients, which may lead to inconsistent outcomes. Trigger point targeted injections have been practiced for many years worldwide, yet a recent randomized controlled trial reported no significant difference in outcome between trigger point targeted BoNT injections versus a saline placebo. Furthermore, it has also been reported that neuromuscular junction (NMJ) and trigger points are distributed in well-defined separate areas with a distance of approximately 10 mm apart. It has also been shown that BoNT injections made 10 mm away from the NMJ can reduce the efficacy of BoNT by 46%. Therefore, injections targeted at the trigger point may, in turn, compromise therapeutic efficacy.

The rationale of this study is that BoNT acts at the NMJ, where the neuromuscular junctions are densely located. By specifying the muscle(s) responsible for the pelvic floor overactivity, and the offending NMJ using high density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG), BoNT can be injected with greater accuracy and objectivity to optimize treatment efficacy. The investigators aim to test the hypothesis that interstitial cystitis patients in the guided injection arm will demonstrate lower hypertonic metrics and improved quality of life. The purpose of this study is to provide preliminary evidence supporting the use of HD-sEMG and NMJ mapping to guide BoNT efficacy.

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 (Estimated)

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.
46

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.
  • Early 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 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Texas
      • Houston, Texas, United States, 77030
        • Baylor College of Medicine
        • Contact:
          • Christopher P Smith, MD, MBA, MSS
          • Phone Number: 713-798-4001
          • Email: cps@bcm.edu

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 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Inclusion criteria for interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS) patients will be:

    1. Woman aged 18 to 60.
    2. Have a clinical diagnosis of IC/BPS.
    3. Pain, pressure, or discomfort in the bladder and/or pelvic area for the past 6 months or more, associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (such as frequency of urination), in the absence of other explanation of the symptoms (e.g., urinary tract infection).
    4. Myofascial pain diagnosed with palpable contracted muscle fibers.
    5. Pelvic muscle tenderness by assessment of pelvic floor muscles on digital pelvic examination.
    6. Pelvic floor hypertonicity (PFH), measured using vaginal manometry (pressure > 35 cm∙H2O).
    7. Ability to provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Exclusion criteria consist of the following:

    1. History of pelvic malignancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
    2. Bleeding disorder such as coagulopathy
    3. History of neurological disorders, such as spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or myasthenia gravis.
    4. Pregnancy, breast feeding or desiring for pregnancy in the coming year.
    5. Subjects with history of pelvic surgery (e.g., pain from mid-urethral sling or pelvic mesh),
    6. Pelvic malignancy (urinary tract, gynecologic, gastrointestinal)
    7. Active fistula
    8. Radiation cystitis
    9. Cyclophosphamide cystitis
    10. Pre-existing anorectal disorders
    11. Infections near the injection sites
    12. History of drug or alcohol abuse
    13. Hypersensitivity to BoNT
    14. Steroids or hormone usage will be carefully considered by the research team for inclusion.

Participants with on-going BoNT therapies will not be screened until the complete drug washout is confirmed.

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: Double

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.
Active Comparator: Template Injection
For the standard template injection, 200 units of BoNT diluted in 6mL of preservative saline will be prepared. 1/4 of the prepared BoNT solution will be administered to each of the pubococcygeus and puborectalis muscle at 5 and 7 o'clock position, respectively. The index finger will be used for palpation as the 20-gauge spinal needle with a trumpet guide (i.e. paracervical block kit) piercing through the vaginal mucosa to the intended muscle groups. The syringe will be withdrawn before each injection to avoid intravascular injection.
Drug: Botulinum Neurotoxin
Botulinum neurotoxin will be injected into the pelvic floor muscles following either a standard template (standard injection arm), or guided using high-density surface EMG (guided arm).
Experimental: Guided Injection
For the guided injection, pelvic floor injections (total of 4) will be made to the pubococcygeus and puborectalis muscles each, at NMJ locations (1.5 ml per site), at patient-specific locations and depths identified from vaginal HD-sEMG recordings. NMJ mappings will be generated for each participant. The channel locations will provide angle measurements for each NMJ. The device will calculate these parameters based on acquired HD-sEMG. The index finger will be used for palpation and guidance of injection needle through the vaginal mucosa to the defined injection sites. The BoNT dosage with respect to the total 200 units administered to each site will be patient specific, determined as the ratio of the resting average resting root-mean square (RMS) value of a specific region divided by the total average resting RMS.
Drug: Botulinum Neurotoxin
Botulinum neurotoxin will be injected into the pelvic floor muscles following either a standard template (standard injection arm), or guided using high-density surface EMG (guided arm).
Device: High Density Surface Electromyographic, precision botulinum neurotoxin injection guidance medical device
A personalized, precision botulinum neurotoxin injection guidance medical device, utilizing an intra-vaginal high-density surface EMG system to optimize the treatment outcomes in chronic pelvic pain (CPP) management.

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
Hypertonic metrics of the pelvic muscles defined by intra-vaginal surface EMG
Time Frame: Baseline
The pelvic floor hypertonicity will be assessed by evaluating the amplitudes of intra-vaginal high-density surface electromyography recordings.
Baseline
Hypertonic metrics of the pelvic muscles defined by intra-vaginal surface EMG
Time Frame: 1-Month Post Injection
The pelvic floor hypertonicity will be assessed by evaluating the amplitudes of intra-vaginal high-density surface electromyography recordings.
1-Month Post Injection
Hypertonic metrics of the pelvic muscles defined by intra-vaginal surface EMG
Time Frame: 3-Months Post Injection
The pelvic floor hypertonicity will be assessed by evaluating the amplitudes of intra-vaginal high-density surface electromyography recordings.
3-Months Post Injection

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
Global response assessment
Time Frame: 1-Month Post Injection
Compared to prior to the treatment, is the patient very much better, much better, a little better, no change, a little worse, much worse, or very much worse.
1-Month Post Injection
Global response assessment
Time Frame: 3-Months Post Injection
Compared to prior to the treatment, is the patient very much better, much better, a little better, no change, a little worse, much worse, or very much worse.
3-Months Post Injection

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.
HillMed Inc.

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.
Baylor College of Medicine
University of Houston

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 (Estimated)

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.
September 15, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
August 15, 2027

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.
December 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).
September 16, 2021

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.
September 21, 2021

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.
September 30, 2021

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.
August 19, 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 14, 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.
  • R44HD107822 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

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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