Mechanistic Studies on Video-guided Acupuncture Imagery Treatment of Knee Pain

October 21, 2025 updated by: Jian Kong, Massachusetts General Hospital
The aim of this study is to investigate brain response and connectivity changes evoked by video-guided acupuncture imagery treatment (VGAIT) and verum and sham acupuncture in knee osteoarthritis patients to elucidate the underlying brain mechanisms of mind-body interaction, imagery, and acupuncture.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

125

Phase

  • 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 Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States, 02129
        • Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging

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

Ages Eligible for Study

40 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Right-handed
  • Knee osteoarthritis patients
  • Ages 40 to 70 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any contraindications to MRI scanning (claustrophobia, metal implants)
  • Current or past history of major medical, neurological, or psychiatric illness other than knee osteoarthritis (including high blood pressure, heart disorders, impaired elimination, stomach problems, major kidney or liver problems, bleeding problems, severe dehydration, history of diabetes, history of asthma or other respiratory condition)
  • Pregnancy
  • Non fluent English speaker

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: Basic Science
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: VGAIT
Device: Acupuncture
Patients will watch a video of themselves receiving acupuncture or a control video or receive real or sham acupuncture treatment.
Other Names:
  • Video of Acupuncture
Sham Comparator: VGAIT Control
Device: Acupuncture
Patients will watch a video of themselves receiving acupuncture or a control video or receive real or sham acupuncture treatment.
Other Names:
  • Video of Acupuncture
Active Comparator: Real Acupuncture
Device: Acupuncture
Patients will watch a video of themselves receiving acupuncture or a control video or receive real or sham acupuncture treatment.
Other Names:
  • Video of Acupuncture
Placebo Comparator: Sham Acupuncture
Device: Acupuncture
Patients will watch a video of themselves receiving acupuncture or a control video or receive real or sham acupuncture treatment.
Other Names:
  • Video of Acupuncture

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
fMRI Signal Increases
Time Frame: Collected once during the first treatment session
fMRI measures changes in brain activity by detecting fluctuations in blood oxygenation levels. The primary signal used in fMRI is the Blood Oxygen Level Dependent (BOLD) signal, which reflects neuronal activity indirectly through hemodynamic responses.
Collected once during the first treatment session

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PAG Resting State Connectivity
Time Frame: baseline and after one month treatment
The resting state functional connectivity of periaqueduct grey (PAG) before and after intervention. Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is assessed by analyzing spontaneous BOLD signal fluctuations in different brain regions when a subject is at rest, providing insights into intrinsic brain network organization. Preprocessing steps, including motion correction, spatial normalization, and noise removal, ensure data accuracy.
baseline and after one month treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Massachusetts 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 (Actual)

August 4, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

August 29, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

August 31, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 22, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 24, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

August 25, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

November 5, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 21, 2025

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2017P000820

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

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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