Cryoneurolysis in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction (ACLR)

July 23, 2026 updated by: NYU Langone Health

Evaluating the Efficacy of Preoperative Cryoneurolysis With Iovera on Postoperative Pain, Function, and Opioid Use Following ACL Reconstruction With Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Autograft

The purpose of this research study is to assess whether cryoneurolysis will help control pain after ACLR surgery and decrease the need of opioid medications. The primary objective is to compare postoperative functional recovery between Iovera and sham arms at 1 month after ACLR.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet 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.

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.
150

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
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10016
        • NYU Langone Health

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

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Age 18-45 years
  2. Scheduled for primary ACLR with BPTB autograft
  3. Willingness and ability to participate in Iovera
  4. No chronic opioid use preoperatively
  5. No known neurologic disorders affecting the lower extremity
  6. Capacity and willingness to provide informed consent and comply with follow-up schedules

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Prior surgery on the affected knee.
  2. Non-English speaking if validated PRO instruments at the site are only available in English; include validated translations if available and approved.
  3. Contraindications to cryoneurolysis (e.g., cryoglobulinemia, cold urticaria, Raynaud's phenomenon, paroxysmal cold hemoglobinuria) or to local anesthetics.
  4. Active skin infection, dermatitis, or compromised skin integrity at or near treatment sites.
  5. Bleeding diathesis or anticoagulant therapy not compatible with minor percutaneous procedures per institutional policy.
  6. Pregnancy or breastfeeding.
  7. Known peripheral neuropathy or significant sensory deficit of the target region.
  8. Any condition that, in the investigator's judgment, increases risk or interferes with participation
  9. Concomitant use of other opioid drugs or prior chronic use.

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: 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.
Experimental: Ioveraº cryoneurolysis study group
Participants will receive the ioveraº cryoneurolysis intervention before surgery.
Device: Pacira Iovera Cryoneurolysis device
The device includes a hand-held piece, charging port with cord, and disposable components: the nitrous oxide capsule and a small probe called the Smart Tip, which has needles that administer the cold to the nerve. It works immediately by freezing nerves that transmit pain signals to reduce pain transmission after surgery.
Sham Comparator: Placebo study group
Participants will have a sham intervention that does not have cryoneurolysis before surgery.
Device: Placebo/Sham device
The placebo/sham device looks just like the ioveraº device, but does not contain cyoneurolysis or any treatment.

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
Difference in Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 Month
The KOOS survey is comprised of 42 questions. The questions are divided into 5 sub-categories: symptoms (7 questions), pain (9 questions), function/daily living (17 questions), function/sports and recreational activities (5 questions), and quality of life (4 questions). The total range for each sub-category is 0-100, making the total range for the whole survey 0-500. The higher the score, the worse the symptoms and pain/ higher difficulty in function.
Baseline, 1 Month
Difference in Lysholm knee scoring scale (LKSS)
Time Frame: Baseline, 1 Month
The Lysholm knee scoring scale is a 100-point patient-reported questionnaire designed to assess functional knee ligament injuries. It evaluates eight areas - limp, support, locking, instability, pain, swelling, stair climbing, and squatting - with higher scores (up to 100) indicating better function.
Baseline, 1 Month

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 Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for Pain score
Time Frame: Baseline, Post-operative Day 1
VAS is a tool widely used to measure pain. A patient is asked to indicate his/her perceived pain intensity (most commonly) along a 10 mm horizontal line, and this rating is then measured from the left edge (=VAS score). The total score range is 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable); the higher the score, the worse the pain.
Baseline, Post-operative Day 1
Change in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for Pain score
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 3
VAS is a tool widely used to measure pain. A patient is asked to indicate his/her perceived pain intensity (most commonly) along a 10 mm horizontal line, and this rating is then measured from the left edge (=VAS score). The total score range is 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable); the higher the score, the worse the pain.
Baseline, Week 3
Change in Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for Pain score
Time Frame: Baseline, Month 6
VAS is a tool widely used to measure pain. A patient is asked to indicate his/her perceived pain intensity (most commonly) along a 10 mm horizontal line, and this rating is then measured from the left edge (=VAS score). The total score range is 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable); the higher the score, the worse the pain.
Baseline, Month 6
Change in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Post-operative Day 1
A segmented, numbered version of the VAS. Patients select a whole number from 0 to 10 where 0 is "no pain" and 10 is the "worst pain imaginable"
Baseline, Post-operative Day 1
Change in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Week 3
A segmented, numbered version of the VAS. Patients select a whole number from 0 to 10 where 0 is "no pain" and 10 is the "worst pain imaginable"
Baseline, Week 3
Change in Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Baseline, Month 6
A segmented, numbered version of the VAS. Patients select a whole number from 0 to 10 where 0 is "no pain" and 10 is the "worst pain imaginable"
Baseline, Month 6
Cumulative opioid consumption as measured by morphine milligram equivalents (MME)
Time Frame: Up to 21 days post-operative
Up to 21 days post-operative

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.
NYU Langone Health

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: Eric J. Strauss, MD, NYU Langone Health

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 (Estimated)

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.
August 1, 2026

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.
September 1, 2027

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.
August 1, 2028

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).
July 23, 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.
July 23, 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.
July 28, 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.
July 28, 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.
July 23, 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.
July 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.
  • 25-00771

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

This is a single-site device study. The de-identified participant data from the final research dataset will be shared upon reasonable request beginning 9 to 36 months after publication or as required by a condition of awards or supporting agreements, provided the requesting investigator executes a data use agreement with NYU Langone Health. This instance of data sharing will also require separate IRB review as well as review from NYU Langone's Data Sharing Strategy Board (DSSB). Requests should be directed to layne.estes@nyulangone.org.

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings