Multilevel Multimodal Neurophysiological Integration for Investigating the Network Modulatory Mechanisms of Epidural Spinal Cord Stimulation

July 23, 2026 updated by: Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital
This study will examine how the brain, spinal cord, and muscles communicate in people with spinal cord injury. Researchers will use noninvasive brain and muscle recordings together with spinal electrical recordings to better understand how epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES) affects nerve function. The results may help develop more effective and personalized rehabilitation treatments for people with spinal cord injury.

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

This study aims to investigate the neural activity of individuals with SCI by simultaneously recording spinal electrograms (SEG), electroencephalography (EEG), and electromyography (EMG). Multimodal neurophysiological recordings will be used to evaluate communication between the brain, spinal cord, and muscles before and after EES. Clinical assessments of neurological function, upper extremity motor performance, and functional independence will also be performed to examine the relationship between electrophysiological changes and functional recovery.

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.
Observational

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.
30

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

  • Taiwan
      • Hualien City, Taiwan
        • Recruiting
        • Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital
        • Contact:
        • 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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Neurosurgery patient at Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

A. Non-Spinal Cord Injury (Non-SCI) Group

  • Individuals without spinal cord injury.
  • Patients diagnosed with chronic neuropathic pain who meet the criteria for routine temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES) implantation therapy.
  • Patients who have undergone temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES) implantation.
  • Ability to understand and follow motor instructions.
  • Age between 20 and 70 years. B. Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Group
  • Patients with chronic spinal cord injury.
  • Patients who have undergone temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES) implantation.
  • American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (AIS) grades A-D.
  • Spinal cord injury levels between C3 and L1.
  • Ability to understand and follow motor instructions.
  • Age between 20 and 70 years.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with severe psychiatric disorders or cognitive impairments, including major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, or dementia, that may affect their ability to understand the study procedures or comply with study instructions.
  • Individuals who are unable to maintain consciousness, follow instructions, or complete study tasks, including motor tasks, isometric contractions, or resting-state tasks.
  • Individuals with severe medical conditions and unstable clinical status, such as uncontrolled cardiovascular disease, severe infection, respiratory failure, or other conditions deemed unsuitable for study participation by the attending physician.
  • Individuals with abnormal positioning, inadequate fixation, or complications related to temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES) leads, including infection, significant pain, or neurological deterioration, as determined by clinical evaluation to be unsuitable for study recordings.
  • Individuals currently using medications that may significantly affect neurophysiological signals, such as high-dose sedatives, anesthetic agents, or other medications considered by the research team to interfere with data interpretation.

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

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
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.
Group without spinal cord injury
Adults aged 20-70 years without spinal cord injury who have chronic neuropathic pain and have undergone temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES). Neural activity will be evaluated using simultaneous spinal electrogram (SEG), electroencephalography (EEG), and electromyography (EMG) recordings during EES.
Spinal cord injury group
This cohort includes adults aged 20-70 years with chronic spinal cord injury who have undergone temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES). Participants with AIS grades A-D and injury levels from C3 to L1 will be included. Neural activity will be evaluated using spinal electrogram (SEG), electroencephalography (EEG), and electromyography (EMG) recordings during EES.
Device: participants will be divided into two disease cohorts: the spinal cord injury (SCI) group and the non-spinal cord injury (non-SCI) group.
This observational case-control study includes two groups: a spinal cord injury (SCI) group and a non-SCI group. The SCI group consists of patients diagnosed with SCI by physicians. Both groups have undergone temporary epidural spinal cord stimulation (EES), and spinal electrophysiological signals will be recorded during stimulation in the SCI group to evaluate neural activity.

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
Peak-to-peak amplitude of spinal evoked responses
Time Frame: baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Peak-to-peak amplitude of spinal evoked responses will be measured in microvolts (µV) to quantify the magnitude of neural activation under different stimulation conditions.
baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Latency of spinal evoked responses
Time Frame: baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Response latency of spinal evoked responses will be measured in milliseconds (ms) from stimulus onset to the onset or peak of the response to evaluate neural conduction characteristics.
baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Area under the curve (AUC) of spinal evoked responses
Time Frame: Baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
The area under the evoked response waveform will be calculated in µV、RMT(%)) to quantify the overall neural response elicited by stimulation.
Baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Recruitment curve of spinal evoked responses
Time Frame: baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
Recruitment curves will be constructed by plotting peak-to-peak amplitude (µV) to characterize spinal neural excitability and recruitment properties.
baseline; at 7、20 days after the implantation
EEG spectral power
Time Frame: baseline; 7、20 days after the implantation
EEG spectral power will be calculated using Morlet wavelet transform and expressed in decibels (dB) for the theta (θ), alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ) frequency bands to quantify changes in neural oscillatory activity.
baseline; 7、20 days after the implantation
SEG spectral power
Time Frame: baseline; 7、20 days after the implantation
SEG spectral power will be calculated using Morlet wavelet transform and expressed in decibels (dB) for the theta (θ), alpha (α), beta (β), and gamma (γ) frequency bands to quantify changes in spinal neural oscillatory activity.
baseline; 7、20 days after the implantation

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.
Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital

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: Yu-Chen Chen, M.D., Ph.D, Hualien Tzu Chi 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 (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.
December 31, 2030

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, 2030

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 20, 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 29, 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 29, 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.
June 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.
  • IRB115-040-A

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