Use of tAN® in Alcohol Withdrawal Management

August 3, 2026 updated by: Erin Takemoto

The Use of Non-invasive Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN®) in Alcohol Withdrawal Management

This research study is being conducted to learn if Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN®) may be effective in treating alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN®) works by delivering small electrical stimulations to the Vagus and Trigeminal nerves. This study will be conducted over the course of five days. Participants will be enrolled within 24 hours of entering treatment for alcohol withdrawal management. A total of 60 individuals will be enrolled and randomly assigned to either active (treatment with the device + treatment as usual) or sham (treatment as usual) group. Data will be collected on alcohol craving, use of comfort medications, sleep, and mood.

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

This study will explore whether the use of a non-invasive Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN®) device, Sparrow® Link, can be used to relieve symptoms of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and reduce the need for comfort medications during alcohol withdrawal management. This study will recruit 60 participants randomized to either active tAN® + Treatment as Usual (TAU) or sham tAN® + TAU, 30 participants in each arm. Data will be collected four times a day for 5 days, exploring ambient alcohol craving, mood, and sleep using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA; Wear-IT framework). Data for stress response, sleep and physical activity will also be collected using a fitness activity tracker (Garmin Vivosmart 4). In addition, the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment, Revised (CIWA-AR) will be administered daily as well. Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation has proven effective in reducing symptoms of opioid withdrawal and it is hypothesized that with the similar withdrawal symptom profile of alcohol withdrawal should prove effective in reducing symptoms of alcohol withdrawal as well.

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.
12

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
    • Pennsylvania
      • Wernersville, Pennsylvania, United States, 19565
        • Caron Treatment Centers

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Ages 18 years old to 65 years old
  2. Entering an inpatient substance use treatment program for alcohol withdrawal management.
  3. Score a 27 or higher on the WHO-ASSIST V3.0
  4. Is proficient in English
  5. Score of a 4 or higher on the Prediction of Alcohol Withdrawal Severity Scale (PAWSS)
  6. Able to provide written informed consent.
  7. Stated willingness to comply with all study procedures and availability for the duration of the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Age < 18 or > 65
  2. Requires medical tapering from benzodiazepines or opioids.
  3. Has a history of epileptic seizures or seizures due to alcohol withdrawal.
  4. Has a cardiac pacemaker, cochlear prosthesis, neurostimulator or other device for which tAN® would be contraindicated.
  5. Has abnormal ear anatomy or an ear infection is present.
  6. Is pregnant.
  7. Has any serious medical disease or condition which, in the judgment of the Principal Investigator or his/her designee, would make study participation unsafe, or would make intervention compliance difficult.

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: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

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 Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN)
Transcutaneous auricular stimulation will be delivered using the Sparrow® Link in addition to treatment as usual (TAU). The Sparrow® Link will be set to the following outputs (range 0 mA - 5.0 mA, pulse width 250 µs, frequency 15 Hz at Region 1 (Vagus) and 100 Hz at Region 2 (Trigeminal). Device will be worn for 5 days.
Device: Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN)
Transcutaneous Auricular stimulation will be delivered using the Spark Biomedical Sparrow Link pulse generator with Sparrow Ascent earpieces. The Sparrow Link generator is based on FDA-cleared predicate Sparrow Ascent.
Sham Comparator: Sham Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN)
The Sparrow® Link will be set to the sham condition for participants in the sham group and no current will be delivered to either the inner or outer ear, but the screen will appear identical to the active group. Sham group will receive treatment as usual. Sham device will be worn for 5 days.
Device: Transcutaneous Auricular Neurostimulation (tAN)
Transcutaneous Auricular stimulation will be delivered using the Spark Biomedical Sparrow Link pulse generator with Sparrow Ascent earpieces. The Sparrow Link generator is based on FDA-cleared predicate Sparrow Ascent.

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
Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) score
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
Linear mixed effects models for repeated measurements will be used to evaluate the difference in changes in these primary outcomes between treatment and sham group. Mixed models take advantage of multiple measures from each individual, allowing for effects both between individuals and within each individual (e.g., across time). The CIWA-Ar is a 10-item scale measuring symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. The scores can range between 0-67. The total score is the sum of all scale items. Scores between 0-9 indicate absent to minimal withdrawal, Scores 10-19 indicate mild to moderate withdrawal and scores greater than 20 indicate severe withdrawal.
Baseline to end of study day 5
Amount of comfort medications utilized
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
Medications such as ibuprofen, Librium, lorazepam, promethazine, loperamide, and acetaminophen are often used to treat alcohol withdrawal. A t-test will be utilized to compare medication usage between active and sham group.
Baseline to end of study day 5

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 in ambient alcohol craving
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
Change in ambient alcohol craving will be measured using a 0-100 Visual Analog Scale (VAS) delivered by smartphone using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) delivered 4 times per day. EMA will be analyzed as a mixed model in the regression framework and will test effects of treatment status as between-group differences
Baseline to end of study day 5
Change in objective sleep
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
Objective sleep will be measured using wrist actigraphy. Analyses of actigraphy data will examine the effect of time (i.e., study day) to identify differences across condition in the amount of sleep (i.e. minutes).
Baseline to end of study day 5
Change in subjective sleep
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
Subjective sleep will be measured using EMA. Analyses of EMA data will examine the effect of time (i.e., study day) to identify differences across condition in the quality of sleep.
Baseline to end of study day 5

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in mood
Time Frame: Baseline to end of study day 5
The impact of the Sparrow® Link treatment on mood will be primarily measured using EMA assessment and will be modeled using linear mixed models in the multilevel modeling (MLM) framework.
Baseline to end of study day 5

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.
Erin Takemoto

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: Erin Deneke, Ph.D., Caron Treatment Centers

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.
April 21, 2025

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 7, 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.
December 15, 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).
January 2, 2025

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.
January 7, 2025

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.
January 13, 2025

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 5, 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.
August 3, 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.
August 1, 2026

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.
  • Caron001

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.

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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