Improvement of Understanding of Pediatric Sacral Neuromodulation: Therapeutic Strategies and Outcome Variables (SMART-GUT)

April 6, 2026 updated by: Dr. med. Sonja Diez, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Stimulation Modeling and Adaptive Response Tracking in Pediatric Gastrointestinal Motility Disorders

The goal of this study is to learn about the effects of sacral neuromodulation in pediatric patients with gastrointestinal motility disorders. By combining advanced neuroimaging, patient-specific biophysical modeling, electrophysiological characterization, and clinical translation, the SMART-GUT project establishes a comprehensive framework to systematically investigate neuromodulation in this pediatric population. This integrative approach enables a direct link between mechanism, targeting, and clinical outcome.

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

Patients enrolled in the study will be receiving sacral neuromodulation (via surgical implantation) and MRIs prior to neuromodulation treatment and after 12 weeks. In cases of surgical implantation, the intraoperative testing is accompanied by a broad neuronal evaluation (The goal is to establish with these informations

  • improved understanding of interindividual sacral nerval anatomy
  • improved guidelines for implantation of sacral neuromodulation via 3D reconstructions (digital twins)
  • prediction of neural activation by sacral neuromodulation and improvement of response rates
  • mechanism guided implantation based on clinical symptoms (fecal incontinence vs. leading constipative symptoms)
  • improvement of therapeutic efficacy in comparison to non-guided implantation

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.
25

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

  • Germany
      • Erlangen, Germany, 91054
        • Recruiting
        • Pediatric Surgery in the Children's Hospital
        • Contact:

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
  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • informed consent of patient and care taker
  • gastrointestinal motility disorder, disregarding underlying diseases
  • exclusion of mechanical obstructions in the gastrointestinal passage
  • age between 3 and 18

Exclusion Criteria:

  • pregnancy/breast feeding
  • decreased renal or thyroidal function
  • drug intake of Beta-blockers, antispasmodics, cyclopropane, bisulfite compounds, haloperidol, heroin, meperidine, metamizole, methadone, morphine, nitrofurantoin, opium alkaloids, phenobarbital, phenylbutazone, probenecid, rifamycin
  • contradictions for MRI
  • indication for analgosedation for MRI
  • inflammatory bowel diseases
  • fractures/different anatomy in sacral region
  • epilepsy
  • presence of cardiac pacemakers

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Sequential 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.
Active Comparator: SNM-guided implantation
Surgical implantation of sacral neuromodulation after generation of digital twin and intraoperative efficacy testing
Procedure: SNM/MRI/EMG
Participants are receiving clinical baseline evaluation, preoperative sacral and functional MRI, reconstruction of digital twin, surgical implantation of sacral neuromodulation including intraoperative testing, postoperative sacral and functional MRI, and clinical follow-up
No Intervention: SNM
SNM implantation based on general knowledge and adult measurements

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
Fecal incontinence
Time Frame: Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Changes in the frequency and intensity of fecal incontinence, assessed by specialized questionnaires for patients and parents and analyzed per day (scale >1x/d; 1x/d; 2-3x/week; 1x/week; <1x/week and classified as soiling/encopresis)
Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Abdominal pain
Time Frame: Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Changes in the frequency and intensity of abdominal pain, , assessed by specialized questionnaires for patients and parents (NRS scale, 0 no pain - 10 maximum pain) and analyzed as episodes per day
Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Defecation frequency
Time Frame: Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Changes in defecation frequency per week, assessed by specialized questionnaires for patients and parents (scale >1x/d; 1x/d; 2-3x/week; 1x/week; <1x/week and classified regarding consistency based on Bristol Stool Scale (1 hard stool - 7 fluid stool))
Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Urinary incontinence
Time Frame: Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Changes in frequency and intensity of urinary incontinence, assessed by specialized questionnaires for patients and parents and analyzed per day (scale >1x/d; 1x/d; 2-3x/week; 1x/week; <1x/week)
Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Proprioception
Time Frame: Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation
Changes in the proprioception of urge to defecate, assessed by specialized questionnaires for patients and parents and analyzed per day (scale normal urge to defecate without soiling/encopresis; rare urge to defecate with soiling/encopresis; no urge to defecate with soiling/encopresis)
Within 12 weeks of sacral neuromodulation

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.
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

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.
July 1, 2018

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 31, 2028

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 31, 2029

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 28, 2026

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 6, 2026

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 9, 2026

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 9, 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 6, 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

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.
  • SMART-GUT_V1

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Data can be shared on reasonable request.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

Within the duration of the study

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF
  • CSR

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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