Feasibility, Safety and Utility of Endomicroscopy to Study the Intestines of Unsedated Infants at UVa

July 22, 2025 updated by: Guillermo Tearney, Massachusetts General Hospital

Feasibility, Safety and Utility of Endomicroscopy to Study the Intestines of Unsedated Infants at University of Virginia (UVa)

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of using the transnasal endomicroscopy (TNE) platform, using intestinal potential difference (IPD) and microbiome brush to evaluate the intestine of unsedated infants.

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

A total of fifteen (15) subjects, infants 6 months of age to 48 months of age will be enrolled in this study.

While the subject is awake and unseated, a catheter with optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging technology will be introduced transnasally. Images will be acquired while the tube is moved through the subject's GI tract. After imaging is complete, accessory device(s) may be threaded through the catheter to collect samples of the gut microbiome and/or measure intestinal potential difference.

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
    • Virginia
      • Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, 22903
        • University of Virginia Children's Hospital

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

  • Child

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 6 to 48 month old infants that can follow fasting requirements

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any infant under 6kg of weight since this is the minimum weight for 6.5 F nasogastric (NG) tube
  • Any infant whose nasal passage cannot reasonably accommodate a 6.5 French nasoduodenal catheter.

  • Any infants with absolute or relative contraindications to transnasal tubes:

    1. severe midface trauma and recent nasal, throat, or esophageal surgery.
    2. Esophageal varices, esophageal stricture, and alkaline ingestion
    3. Congenital anatomical defects affecting the gastrointestinal tract, most specifically cleft lip and/or cleft palate.

  • Any infant with absolute or relative contraindication to a duodenal biopsy:

    1. post bone marrow transplant
    2. coagulation abnormalities

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: Screening
  • 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: Trans Nasal Endomicroscopy Imaging
The subject will have the transnasal introduction tube inserted, and OCT images will be acquired using the OCT compact imaging system. The subject may also undergo a microbiome brushing and/or intestinal potential difference measurement procedure during the study visit.
Device: Transnasal introduction tube
Imaging of the GI tract using the transnasal introduction tube and system. Optional gut microbiome sample collection using the microbiome brush and/or intestinal potential difference measurement using the intestinal potential difference probe.
Other Names:
  • Microbiome brush
  • Intestinal potential difference probe

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
Ability to Acquire Intestinal Images in an Unsedated Infant
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Can the technology successfully collect images of the small intestine in an unseated infant?
Approximate 90 minute study visit
Ability for Unsedated Infant Subjects to Tolerate the Device
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Can the unsedated infant subjects tolerate the administration of the device with minimal discomfort?
Approximate 90 minute study visit
Ability to Visualize Features of the Small Intestine in Unsedated Infants.
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Can the technology successfully visualize features of the small intestine (villi etc) on OCT in unsedated infants?
Approximate 90 minute study visit
Ability to Acquire Microbiome Brush and Intestinal Potential Difference Samples
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Can the technology successfully collect microbiome brush and/or intestinal potential differences samples?
Approximate 90 minute study visit

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
Amount and Composition of Microbial Samples Acquired Via Microbiome Brush Sampling in Unsedated Infants
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Measurements including DNA load and microbial composition will be collected.
Approximate 90 minute study visit
Ability to Collect Intestinal Potential Difference Measurements in Various Locations in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Unsedated Infants
Time Frame: Approximate 90 minute study visit
Intestinal potential difference measurements will be collected at various locations to determine the feasibility of measuring IPD in unsedated infants
Approximate 90 minute study visit

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.
Massachusetts General Hospital

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.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

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: Guillermo Tearney, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital

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.
January 1, 2022

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.
June 17, 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.
June 17, 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).
March 9, 2023

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 4, 2023

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.
May 12, 2023

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 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 22, 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

Keywords

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.
  • 2021P003264

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

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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