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The Accuracy and Efficacy of AI-driven tVNS Algorithm

NCT05215756 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 12

Last updated 2025-01-07

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Pain, including somatic and visceral pain, is a common symptom. Persistent pain can lead to repetitive visits to hospitals and can limit patients' daily activities, which can result in tremendous medical cost and lower quality of life. For example, the prevalence rates of 25% are reported only for abdominal pain among adults (3), and it costs $10.2 billion each year in the US.

Pain is usually treated according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 3 steps analgesic ladder. Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are mainly used in step 1, which can cause serious side effects such as GI bleeding, renal failure and cardiovascular disease. In step 2 \& 3, opioids are used and are also associated with serious side effects (e.g., psychological addiction, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, constipation, physical dependence, tolerance, and respiratory depression). Therefore, a new effective non-pharmacological treatment is beneficial for patients.

One such method is transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation (tVNS). The auricular or cervical branch of the vagal nerve runs just under the skin and can be electrically stimulated through the skin by tVNS devices, which have shown the analgesic effects on various pain conditions.

The autonomic activity, including parasympathetic tone, can be estimated from the beat to beat intervals in the electrocardiogram, which is called heart rate variability (HRV). To date, we have shown that visceral and somatic pain triggered the autonomic response with the change in HRV, and HRV could be a biomarker of pain.

We hypothesised that the development of pain, including somatic pain and visceral pain, could be predicted by analysing heart rate pattern by artificial intelligence (AI). In this proof of concept study, we evaluate the detection rate of pain by the AI analysis of heart rate pattern. We also evaluate the effect of tVNS on the pain threshold.

Conditions

  • Healthy Volunteer

Interventions

DEVICE

transcutaneous vagal nerve stimulation

The tVNS device will be attached to the left concha of the ear to stimulate the auricular branch of the vagal nerve. Each stimulation will last for 2 minutes.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Queen Mary University of London

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Max Age
65 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-04-01
Primary Completion
2024-11-30
Completion
2024-11-30

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05215756 on ClinicalTrials.gov