Ventilation Distribution in COPD Patients During Breathing Exercises

April 22, 2026 updated by: William Poncin, PT, PhD

Influence of Airway Clearance Techniques on Ventilation Distribution in the Lateral Posture in COPD and Healthy Individuals

ELTGOL (Slow Expiration with the Opened Glottis in the Lateral posture) is an airway clearance technique performed in the lateral decubitus position. This technique focuses on optimizing ventilation of the infralateral lung (when the subject is lying in the lateral posture) to enhance local air-liquid interaction. Previous studies on ventilation differences between the infra- and supralateral lungs were conducted on healthy, young, male subjects, without the application of thoracic or abdominal pressure.

This study aimed to assess ventilation distribution in right lateral recumbency in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as healthy individuals, and investigate the impact of thoracic and abdominal manual pressures during ELTGOL on ventilation distribution.

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

Electrical impedance tomography will be used to verify the effect of the lateral posture and associated breathing techniques in COPD and healthy individuals. The subjects will be placed in a standardised position before the measurements begin. The subjects will be placed in a right lateral recumbency position. The protocol comprises four manoeuvres, each interrupted by a short rest phase. Each subject will begin the experiment with the spontaneous ventilation manoeuvre in order to obtain the reference ventilation distribution. This will be followed by four other manoeuvres during which ventilation was measured: 1) using an spirometer to obtain a tidal volume of 1L, 2) performing the ELTGOL technique independently, 3) performing the ELTGOL technique assisted by manual pressures applied by a physiotherapist. 4) using a positive expiratory pressure (PEP) device.

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.
33

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 Locations

  • Belgium
    • Brussels Capital
      • Brussels, Brussels Capital, Belgium, 1200
        • Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy subjects: No acute or chronic respiratory disease, normal lung function, non-smoker.
  • Patients with COPD: forced expiratory volume at one second (FEV1) ≤ 80% predicted value, in stable state.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy subjects: obesity (BMI > 35kg/m²); active or former smoker; severe scoliosis; cardiovascular or neuromuscular disease; active implant (cardiac pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD); thoracic skin lesion.
  • Patients with COPD: obesity (BMI > 35kg/m²); severe scoliosis; severe cardiovascular disease; neuromuscular disease; active implant (cardiac pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD); thoracic skin lesion.

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: Single

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: ELTGOL_Physio
ELTGOL + Manual pressure of the physiotherapist
Behavioral: ELTGOL_Physio
The subject will be asked to slowly exhale with the glottis opened in the right lateral posture. The physiotherapist will accompany the subject by gently applying manual pressure on the chest wall and the abdomen during expiratory phases.
Active Comparator: ELTGOL_Auto
ELTGOL performed autonomously
Behavioral: ELTGOL_Auto
The subject will be asked to slowly exhale with the glottis opened in the right lateral posture. The physiotherapist will not intervene in this arm.
Active Comparator: PEP
Positive expiratory pressure (PEP)
Device: PEP
The subject will be asked to exhale through a positive expiratory pressure (PEP) device (Threshold PEP) while being in the right lateral posture.
Active Comparator: 1L-Tidal-Breathing
Tidal-breathing of 1 liter per breath
Behavioral: 1L-Tidal-Breathing
The subject will be asked to breath with a fixed tidal-breathing of 1 liter per breath (monitored via a spirometer) while being in the right lateral posture.
Active Comparator: Spontaneous Breathing
Behavioral: Spontaneous Breathing
The subject will be asked to breath spontaneously while being in the right lateral posture.

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
Impedance variation using Electrical Impedance Tomography
Time Frame: 2 minutes during intervention
Impedance change in the right and left lungs
2 minutes during intervention

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.
William Poncin, PT, PhD

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.
April 15, 2024

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.
May 16, 2025

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.
May 16, 2025

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).
April 15, 2024

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.
April 23, 2024

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.
April 24, 2024

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.
April 23, 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.
April 22, 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.
April 1, 2026

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.
  • ELTGOL

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

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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