Electromagnetic Tracking to Measure Tremor

Noninvasive Electromagnetic Tracking of Upper Extremity Motion Kinetics for Patients With Severe Tremor Disorders

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment option for individuals with debilitating tremors that do not respond to medical therapy. However, severe tremors, particularly those that develop after central nervous system insult or from multiple sclerosis, can be comprised of several underlying components that represent dysfunction within distinct brain circuits. Some of these dysfunctional brain circuits can be successfully treated with DBS while others respond poorly DBS therapy. For severe tremors, it can be very difficult to discriminate between the underlying components of a patient movement disorder and is exclusively dependent upon clinical expertise. Even with extensive clinical experience, it is difficult to reliably predict the results of DBS therapy for patients suffering from severe, debilitating tremor. In an attempt to gain more knowledge, an electromagnetic tracking system will be used which can precisely measure the position of a patient's upper extremity in space during routine neurologic examination. The goal is to use this tool to quantitatively identify various components of severe tremor, which can be discriminated based on oscillatory frequency and regularity of tremor amplitude. The purpose of this research study is to better understand the nature of complex, severe tremors by carefully measuring movement of the upper extremities with sensors during simple tasks. The goal is to break down complicated tremors into their components and then determine which components will respond to deep brain stimulation.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tremor
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Electromagnetic tracking; Procedure: Tremor kinetics after DBS; Procedure: Tremor kinetics before and after DBS

Detailed Description

As a participant in the research study small sensors that are connected to wires will be affixed to points on your hand, wrist, elbow and/or shoulder. These sensors are painless and otherwise noninvasive. They will be used to measure the precise location of the hand and arm in space during the neurologic examination. This exam will test the tremors during short, simple tasks using the hand and arm. This information will be stored along with your name and medical record number for analysis after your testing is complete.

The sensors that are used to measure movements are connected to thin, flexible wires that will be attached with adhesive tape. The motion sensors use a magnet that produces a weak electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic field poses no direct harm, but could potentially interfere with medical devices such as cardiac pacemakers or deep brain stimulators if placed very close to the electromagnetic emitter.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 20

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Florida
    • Gainesville, Florida, United States, 32607
      • Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients between 18 and 80 years old who have undergone deep brain stimulator implantation or are being considered for deep brain stimulation for severe, intractable tremor.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Adults
• Individuals who have undergone or are scheduled to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) placement

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who have not had or are not scheduled for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) placement

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Tremor kinetics after DBS; This group have already undergone Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) placement and will have measurements of tremor kinetics by using the electromagnetic tracking. The electromagnetic sensors will be placed on the arm and hand while the routine outpatient neurologic examinations are being performed. The testing will be performed with the DBS system in both the on and off settings.	Device: Electromagnetic tracking; The electromagnetic tracking system will precisely measure the position of a patient's upper extremity in space during routine neurologic examination.; Procedure: Tremor kinetics after DBS; We will fit the patient with the electromagnetic sensors and then perform routine outpatient neurologic examinations with their DBS system in both the DBS on and the DBS off settings.
Tremor kinetics before and after DBS; This group will have measurements of tremor kinetics by using electromagnetic tracking prior to being scheduled to undergo Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) placement. A total of two testing sessions will be performed: the first session will be performed during the routine preoperative visit, the second session will be performed during the routine postoperative DBS programming visit in both the DBS on and the DBS off settings.	Device: Electromagnetic tracking; The electromagnetic tracking system will precisely measure the position of a patient's upper extremity in space during routine neurologic examination.; Procedure: Tremor kinetics before and after DBS; We will perform two testing sessions: the first session will be performed during a routine preoperative visit, the second session will be performed during a routine postoperative DBS programming visit in both the DBS on and the DBS off settings.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Power spectrum peaks	We will perform power spectrum analysis of raw movement data (X, Y, Z coordinates at each time point). Spectral analysis will be used to differentiate multiple underlying components of a patient's tremor that occur at different frequencies.	1 day

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Florida
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Seth Oliveria, MD,PhD, University of Florida

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): December 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): December 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 14, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 22, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): December 29, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): October 26, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 24, 2017
• Last Verified: October 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Dyskinesias; Tremor
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB201500964

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO