Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Optic Neuropathies (rtACS)

July 2, 2025 updated by: Jeffrey L Goldberg, Stanford University

An Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Repetitive, Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation (rtACS) for the Treatment of Optic Neuropathies

The overall aim of this study is to see whether long-term electrical stimulation with a home-stimulation device works well and is safe for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma. Open-Angle Glaucoma is a disease where the nerves in the back of your eye die off faster than expected regardless of your eye pressure.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
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

This is a concurrent open-label study for patients who are deemed safe to participate in the electrical stimulation trial but do not fit the exact criteria for the randomized clinical trial.

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.
40

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

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Participant must be at least 18.
  2. Participant must has the ability to comply with the requirements of the study and complete the schedule of events (SOE).
  3. Participant's clinical diagnosis must be consistent with glaucoma characterized by the following features: Mean deviation (MD) worse than -3 on Humphrey Visual Field 24-2 testing. Reliable visual field measures, fixation losses do not exceed 20% and false postivies do not exeed 20%.
  4. In the opinion of the investigator the participant's eye pressure must be clinically stable.
  5. If a participant has two eyes meeting study criteria, the worse eye as determined by mean deviation. If both eyes qualify and have the same MD, the patient may choose which eye they are willing to enter, or else a randomization procedure will assign one eye to the study.
  6. Participant must understand and sign the informed consent. If the participant's vision is impaired to the point where he/she cannot read the informed consent document, the document will be read to the participant in its entirety.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Participant is unable to comply with study procedures or follow-up visits.
  2. Participant has a history of ocular herpes zoster.
  3. Participant has pathological nystagmus
  4. Participant has evidence of visually significant retinopathy including but not limited to Diabetic retinopathy or retinitis pigmentosa.
  5. Participant has evidence of corneal opacification or lack of optical clarity.
  6. Participant has uveitis or other ocular inflammatory disease.
  7. Participant has any electric or electroinc implants such as a pacemaker.
  8. Participant has acute conjunctivitis.
  9. Participant has acute autoimmune disease.
  10. Participant is pregnant or lactating.
  11. Participant has, in the opinion of the investigator, any physical or mental condition that would increase the risk of participation in the study or may interfere with the study procedures, evaluations and outcome assessments. Including but not limited to all forms of dementia.
  12. Unresected brain tumors
  13. Implanted intracranial magnetic metals (metallic implants in the head / skull such as clamps, coils, ventriculo-peritoneal shunts, endoprostheses, etc.), which are not MRI-compatible. Note: metallic dental implants and titanium screws or plates are acceptable
  14. Patients with any skin damage.
  15. Children and comatose patients.
  16. Patients with history of epileptic seizure within the last 10 years.
  17. Patients with uncontrolled systemic hypertension or uncontrolled diabetes.
  18. Participant is not able to travel, to comply with the requirements of the study or not willing to complete the schedule of events (SOE) and/or unable to confirm follow-up participation
  19. Prior participation in a vision training/stimulation study in the last 12 months

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: 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: Active SASm
Patients will receive active treatment with the device every other day over 8 weeks.
Device: Repetitive, Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation (rtACS)
Patients receive treatment every other day via a headband that delivers electrical stimulation to the retina
Other Names:
  • Electrical Stimulation

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
Time Frame
Change from baseline in visual field assessed by Humphrey Visual Field Index (VFI).
Time Frame: Baseline through 6 months
Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in visual field assessed by Humphrey Mean Deviation (MD).
Time Frame: Baseline through 6 months
Baseline through 6 months

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
Change from baseline in visual acuity as assessed by the Snellen visual acuity test.
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
The Snellen test is a standard eye chart test used to test eyesight.
Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in ganglion cell layer as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT, visible light and/or infrared).
Time Frame: Baseline through 6 months
Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT, visible light and/or infrared).
Time Frame: Baseline through 6 months
Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in visual evoked potential.
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in retinal metabolic analysis(RMA)/OcuMet imaging.
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
There are two index measures of retinal metabolism and a normative database; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.
Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in adaptive optics retinal imaging.
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
There are no index measures for adaptive optics retinal imaging in this disease; change from baseline will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.
Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in laser speckle flowgraphy
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
There is one index measure of retinal blood flow response to light stimulation; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.
Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in OCT angiography
Time Frame: Baseline through Month 6
There are 3 index measures of retinal blood flow in OCT-A; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.
Baseline through Month 6

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.
Stanford University

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.
NYU Langone Health
Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg

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: Jeffrey L Goldberg, MD PhD, Stanford University

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.
February 27, 2023

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.
December 1, 2026

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).
November 15, 2022

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 15, 2022

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 23, 2022

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.
July 8, 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.
July 2, 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.
July 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.
  • 68207

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

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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