Electrical Stimulation for the Treatment of Optic Neuropathies (rtACS)

An Open-Label Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Repetitive, Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation (rtACS) for the Treatment of Optic Neuropathies

The overall aim of this study is to see whether long-term electrical stimulation with a home-stimulation device works well and is safe for the treatment of open-angle glaucoma. Open-Angle Glaucoma is a disease where the nerves in the back of your eye die off faster than expected regardless of your eye pressure.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Glaucoma; Glaucoma, Open-Angle; Optic Nerve Diseases
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Repetitive, Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation (rtACS)

Detailed Description

This is a concurrent open-label study for patients who are deemed safe to participate in the electrical stimulation trial but do not fit the exact criteria for the randomized clinical trial.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94303
      • Recruiting
      • Byers Eye Institute
      • Contact: Study Team; Phone Number: 650-497-5942; Email: glaucomatrials@stanford.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Participant must be at least 18.
2. Participant must has the ability to comply with the requirements of the study and complete the schedule of events (SOE).
3. Participant's clinical diagnosis must be consistent with glaucoma characterized by the following features: Mean deviation (MD) worse than -3 on Humphrey Visual Field 24-2 testing. Reliable visual field measures, fixation losses do not exceed 20% and false postivies do not exeed 20%.
4. In the opinion of the investigator the participant's eye pressure must be clinically stable.
5. If a participant has two eyes meeting study criteria, the worse eye as determined by mean deviation. If both eyes qualify and have the same MD, the patient may choose which eye they are willing to enter, or else a randomization procedure will assign one eye to the study.
6. Participant must understand and sign the informed consent. If the participant's vision is impaired to the point where he/she cannot read the informed consent document, the document will be read to the participant in its entirety.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Participant is unable to comply with study procedures or follow-up visits.
2. Participant has a history of ocular herpes zoster.
3. Participant has pathological nystagmus
4. Participant has evidence of visually significant retinopathy including but not limited to Diabetic retinopathy or retinitis pigmentosa.
5. Participant has evidence of corneal opacification or lack of optical clarity.
6. Participant has uveitis or other ocular inflammatory disease.
7. Participant has any electric or electroinc implants such as a pacemaker.
8. Participant has acute conjunctivitis.
9. Participant has acute autoimmune disease.
10. Participant is pregnant or lactating.
11. Participant has, in the opinion of the investigator, any physical or mental condition that would increase the risk of participation in the study or may interfere with the study procedures, evaluations and outcome assessments. Including but not limited to all forms of dementia.
12. Unresected brain tumors
13. Implanted intracranial magnetic metals (metallic implants in the head / skull such as clamps, coils, ventriculo-peritoneal shunts, endoprostheses, etc.), which are not MRI-compatible. Note: metallic dental implants and titanium screws or plates are acceptable
14. Patients with any skin damage.
15. Children and comatose patients.
16. Patients with history of epileptic seizure within the last 10 years.
17. Patients with uncontrolled systemic hypertension or uncontrolled diabetes.
18. Participant is not able to travel, to comply with the requirements of the study or not willing to complete the schedule of events (SOE) and/or unable to confirm follow-up participation
19. Prior participation in a vision training/stimulation study in the last 12 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Active SASm; Patients will receive active treatment with the device every other day over 8 weeks.	Device: Repetitive, Transorbital Alternating Current Stimulation (rtACS); Patients receive treatment every other day via a headband that delivers electrical stimulation to the retina; Other Names: Electrical Stimulation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Change from baseline in visual field assessed by Humphrey Visual Field Index (VFI).	Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in visual field assessed by Humphrey Mean Deviation (MD).	Baseline through 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change from baseline in visual acuity as assessed by the Snellen visual acuity test.	The Snellen test is a standard eye chart test used to test eyesight.	Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in ganglion cell layer as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT, visible light and/or infrared).		Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in nerve fiber layer thickness as measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT, visible light and/or infrared).		Baseline through 6 months
Change from baseline in visual evoked potential.		Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in retinal metabolic analysis(RMA)/OcuMet imaging.	There are two index measures of retinal metabolism and a normative database; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.	Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in adaptive optics retinal imaging.	There are no index measures for adaptive optics retinal imaging in this disease; change from baseline will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.	Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in laser speckle flowgraphy	There is one index measure of retinal blood flow response to light stimulation; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.	Baseline through Month 6
Change from baseline in OCT angiography	There are 3 index measures of retinal blood flow in OCT-A; change from baseline with a statistically significant difference from test-retest variability will be the exploratory endpoint measured here.	Baseline through Month 6

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Stanford University
• Collaborators: NYU Langone Health; Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jeffrey L Goldberg, MD PhD, Stanford University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 27, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): November 23, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): July 8, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 2, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Eye Diseases; Cranial Nerve Diseases; Ocular Hypertension; Nervous System Diseases; Glaucoma; Glaucoma, Open-Angle; Optic Nerve Diseases
• Other Study ID Numbers: 68207

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: Yes
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No