- ICH GCP
- US Clinical Trials Registry
- Clinical Trial NCT06160336
Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation in Lower Limb Amputees
Use of Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation for Restoring Somatotopic Sensory Feedback in Lower Limb Amputees
Current lower limb prostheses support ambulation by absorbing and stabilizing positions during walking. Users of lower limb prostheses rely solely on sensory information provided by the contact between the socket and the residual limb. Restoring sensory feedback could potentially improve their quality of life and participation in daily activities. Despite a high incidence of lower limb amputations, there are few studies in the literature addressing the restoration of sensory feedback in lower limb amputees, particularly studies utilizing invasive techniques. In an effort to overcome these limitations, various non-invasive methods have been tested. Despite resulting benefits such as improved gait symmetry and stability, most non-invasive stimulation systems are non-somatotopic, failing to generate a sensation referred to the patient's missing limb. From the literature, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) emerges as a very promising non-invasive and somatotopically-based sensory feedback approach, capable of inducing sensations referred to the amputees' phantom limb.
Therefore, the proposed study will involve the use of TENS as a means to stimulate sensitivity and prevent perceptual disturbances associated with the interruption of peripheral nerve structures occurring in individuals undergoing amputation. These disturbances, besides influencing the development of symptoms characterized by neuropathic pain, can impact prosthesis management.
Study Overview
Status
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Locations
-
-
-
Roma, Italy
- Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Centro Santa Maria della Provvidenza
-
-
Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
- Older Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- age between 18 and 80 years;
- unilateral transtibial amputation or transfemoral amputation at least two months prior the study;
- stable clinical conditions;
- skin integrity;
- absence of cognitive deficits.
Exclusion Criteria:
- bilateral amputation;
- open wounds or sores on the residual limb;
- cognitive deficits;
- pregnancy;
- presence of implanted medical device (e.g., cardiac defibrillators, pacemakers or infusion pumps);
- refusal to sign the informed consent.
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Other
- Allocation: N/A
- Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
- Masking: None (Open Label)
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / Arm |
Intervention / Treatment |
---|---|
Experimental: TENS group
|
Phase 1: Participants undergo a comprehensive assessment in a single experimental session (mapping session) aimed at mapping the regions and sensations that can be electrically stimulated. This mapping protocol is conducted on both the intact and amputated limbs. Phase 2: This phase comprises a 4-week experimental protocol, including:
|
What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Electrical Sensation Mapping Questionnaire
Time Frame: Baseline
|
It is an ad-hoc questionnaire designed for comprehensive characterization of sensations elicited through TENS. This includes perceptual thresholds, referred sensations (evaluated for naturalness, depth, pain, intensity, and quality), sensitivity, size, and similarity of the activated areas. The questionnaire incorporates: a five-point scale assessing naturalness from unnatural to natural, a metric to determine the sensation's location (i.e., superficial and/or deep), a scale from 0 to 10 measuring the intensity and pain levels of the sensation, and multiple choice options to describe the quality (touch/pressure, pinch, vibration, tugging, tingling, burning, hot, cold, ankle flexion, ankle extension, toe flexion, toe extension, and none) |
Baseline
|
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
---|---|---|
Changes in gait symmetry
Time Frame: Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Evaluation of the symmetry between the intact and the amputated limbs based on spatio-temporal gait parameter, measured using an optoelectronic system
|
Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Changes in Pain Intensity (NRS)
Time Frame: Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
The Numerical Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) is a subjective measure in which individuals rate their pain on an eleven-point numerical scale, from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable)
|
Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Changes in Neuropathic Pain (NPSI)
Time Frame: Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
The NPSI is one of the most extensively used instruments for assessing the intensity of neuropathic pain symptoms. It consists of 10 items corresponding to sensory descriptors that can be grouped into 5 dimensions: spontaneous burning pain (burning), spontaneous pressing pain (pressing), paroxysmal pain (paroxysmal), evoked pain (evoked), and paresthesia/dysesthesia. Each dimension can be scored between 0 and 10. In addition, a final score, equivalent to the total of the 10 descriptors and ranging from 0 (best) to 100 (worst), can be calculated. |
Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Changes in body weight distribution between legs during gait
Time Frame: Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Assessment of the force exerted on the ground during walking using an ad-hoc developed insole equipped with sensors, designed to be inserted under the participant's prosthetic foot.
|
Baseline; after a 1-month intervention
|
Collaborators and Investigators
Collaborators
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Primary Completion (Actual)
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Estimated)
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Other Study ID Numbers
- SENSE
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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.
Clinical Trials on Lower Limb Amputation
-
Otto Bock Healthcare Products GmbHHanger Clinic: Prosthetics & OrthoticsActive, not recruitingLower Limb Amputation Above Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation Knee | Congenital Amputation of Lower LimbUnited States
-
Tezel Yıldırım ŞahanCompletedValidity and Reliability of The 3-Meter Backward Walk Test in Individuals With Lower Limb AmputationLower Limb Amputation Below Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation KneeTurkey
-
Sint MaartenskliniekCompletedLower Limb Amputation Above Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation KneeNetherlands
-
University of British ColumbiaCanadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Not yet recruitingLower Limb Amputation Below Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation Above Knee (Injury) | Amputation | Behavior | Lower Limb Amputation Knee
-
Sint MaartenskliniekCompletedAmputation | Lower Limb AmputationNetherlands
-
Otto Bock Healthcare Products GmbHCompletedLower Limb Amputation Below Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation Above Knee (Injury) | Lower Limb Amputation KneeUnited States
-
Liberating Technologies, Inc.Vivonics, Inc.CompletedLower Limb Amputation Below Knee (Injury) | Amputation | Prosthesis User | Amputation; Traumatic, Leg, Lower | Limb; Absence, Congenital, Lower | Amputation StumpUnited States
-
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire DijonRecruiting
-
Northwestern UniversityMinneapolis Veterans Affairs Medical Center; University of Washington; INAIL...CompletedLower Limb AmputationUnited States, Italy
-
University Rehabilitation Institute, Republic of...WithdrawnLower Limb AmputationSlovenia
Clinical Trials on Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation
-
University of L'AquilaCompleted
-
Karolinska University HospitalActive, not recruitingHip Fractures | Hip Osteoarthritis | Orthopedic Disorder | Post Operative PainSweden
-
University of Colorado, BoulderUniversity of Colorado, Denver; Colorado State UniversityWithdrawn
-
ADIR AssociationCompletedChronic Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseFrance
-
Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de ParisCompletedTendinopathy | Cervical Radiculopathy | Post-herpetic Neuralgia | Chronic Back Pain | Limbs Arthrosis | Non Arthrosic Limbs Arthralgia | Chronic Lomboradiculalgia | Post-surgical Peripheral Neuropathic Pain | Post Trauma Neuropathic Pain | Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I or IIFrance
-
University Hospital, ToulouseMinistry of Health, FranceTerminatedPeripheral Artery DiseaseFrance
-
Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de RolanteCentro Universitario La SalleUnknown
-
Institut Cancerologie de l'OuestTerminated
-
University of Nove de JulhoRecruiting
-
Hawra Al-DandanRecruitingOveractive Bladder SyndromeSaudi Arabia