Continuous Monitoring of Microvascular Anastomoses: An Observational Trial

September 11, 2026 updated by: Mayo Clinic
This study is being done to see whether signals from a device that monitors blood flow through the free flap can be recorded and converted from an audible signal, like a heartbeat, into a visual signal. Researchers plan to use this information to ultimately help surgeons and care teams monitor free flaps to try to prevent flap failure.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

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 Backup

  • Name: Colleen Dickman
  • Phone Number: 507-284-1231

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
        • Mayo Clinic in Rochester
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Kathryn M. Van Abel, MD
        • Contact:
          • Colleen Dickman
          • Phone Number: 507-284-1231

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients scheduled to undergo free flap surgery with an implantable doppler

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Scheduled for free flap surgery and planned to have an implanted doppler monitor
  • Arterial Doppler waveforms available for analysis
  • Able and willing to sign consent and return for clinical follow up
  • Age ≥ 18 years

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Prior head and neck surgery within the region where surgeons plan to identify donor vessels ≤ 365 days prior to registration

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
Intervention / Treatment
Observational
Patients undergo recording of the clinical Doppler monitor via an implanted research recording device (RRD) and have their medical records reviewed on study.
Other: Non-Interventional Study
Non-interventional study
Other Names:
  • Non-Interventional Observational Study
  • Noninterventional (Observational) Study

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility - record audible doppler signal tracings
Time Frame: Up to 30 days
Ability to record a minimum of 2 audible doppler signal tracings from the implantable doppler per 24 hours for a minimum of one 24 hour period for 80% of subjects. Analysis of the primary endpoint will be done in a binary (yes/no) fashion to describe the feasibility of the proposed research recording device (RRD) to record and convert recorded signals into various visual formats. Recordings will be observed by study staff to determine whether auditory acuity matches expected signals.
Up to 30 days
Feasibility - convert audible doppler signal tracings to stored data files
Time Frame: Up to 30 days
Ability to convert the recorded doppler signal tracings to stored data files for 80% of subjects. Analysis of the primary endpoint will be done in a binary (yes/no) fashion to describe the feasibility of the proposed RRD to record and convert recorded signals into various visual formats.
Up to 30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Feasibility - convert audible data to visual signal to a visual signal
Time Frame: Up to 30 days
Ability to convert a minimum of 80% of the audible data files to a visual signal. Analysis of the primary endpoint will be done in a binary (yes/no) fashion to describe the feasibility of the proposed RRD to record and convert recorded signals into various visual formats. Visual displays will be observed by study staff to confirm the display matches the expected form, as informed by prior experience/literature with doppler studies of peripheral vasculature. The specific methods for visualization will include a multimodal approach that includes Doppler signal time-series waveform, spectrogram, and Fourier Transform.
Up to 30 days

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
AI algorithm
Time Frame: Up to 2 years
Ability to build a predictive artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm for identifying high-risk or compromised flaps using a neural network.
Up to 2 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Mayo Clinic

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kathryn M. Van Abel, MD, Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

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)

September 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

August 31, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 16, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 11, 2026

Last Verified

September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • MC260703
  • NCI-2026-06182 (Registry Identifier: CTRP (Clinical Trial Reporting Program))
  • 26-005423 (Other Identifier: Mayo Clinic Institutional Review Board)

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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