Providing Brain Control of Extracorporeal Devices to Patients With Quadriplegia

NCT ID: NCT01849822

Last Updated: 2021-04-30

Study Results

Results available

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Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

1 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2013-02-28

Study Completion Date

2019-01-31

Brief Summary

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This research study is being done to develop a brain controlled medical device, called a brain-machine interface or BMI, that will provide people with a spinal cord injury some ability to control an external device such as a computer cursor or robotic limb by using their thoughts.

Developing a brain-machine interface (BMI) is very difficult and currently only limited technology exists in this area of neuroscience. The device in this study involves implanting very fine recording electrodes into areas of the brain that are known to create arm movement plans and provide hand grasping information. These movement and grasp plans would then normally be sent to other regions of the brain to execute the actual movements. By tying into those pathways and sending the movement plan signals to a computer instead, the investigators can translate the movement plans into actual movements by a computer cursor or robotic limb.

The device being used in this study is called the NeuroPort Array and is surgically implanted in the brain. This device and the implantation procedure are experimental which means that it has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One NeuroPort Array consists of a small grid of electrodes that will be implanted in brain tissue with a small cable that runs from the electrode grid to a small hourglass-shaped pedestal. This pedestal is designed to be attached to the skull and protrude though the scalp to allow for connection with the computer equipment.

The investigators hope to learn how safe and effective the NeuroPort Array is in controlling computer generated images and real world objects, such as a robotic arm, using imagined movements of the arms and hands. To accomplish this goal, two NeuroPort Arrays will be used.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Tetraplegia

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Neural Prosthetic System

The Neural Prosthetic System consists of two Neuroport Arrays, which are described in detail in the intervention description. Both Neuroport Arrays are inserted into the posterior parietal cortex, an area of the brain used in reach and grasp planning. The arrays are inserted and the percutaneous pedestal is attached to the skull during a surgical procedure. Following surgical recovery the subjects will participate in study sessions 3-5 times per week in which they will learn to control an end effector by thought. They will then use the end effector to perform various reach and grasp tasks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Neural Prosthetic System

Intervention Type DEVICE

The Neural Prosthetic System is primarily composed of two NeuroPort Arrays. Each array is comprised of 100 microelectrodes (1.5 mm in length) uniformly organized on a 4 mm x 4 mm silicon base that is 0.25 mm thick. Each microelectrode is insulated with Parylene-C polymer and is electrically isolated from neighboring electrodes by non-conducting glass. Each microelectrode has a platinum tip that is 100-200 microns in length and offers impedance values from 100-800 kilo-ohms. Of the 100 electrodes, 96 are wire bonded using 25 micron gold alloy insulated wires collectively sealed with a silicone elastomer. The wire bundle is potted to a printed circuit board with epoxy, the printed circuit board is inserted into the Patient Pedestal (percutaneous connector), and then the Patient Pedestal is filled with silicone elastomer. Two fine platinum reference wires are also attached to the Patient Pedestal. The Patient Pedestal is 19 mm wide at the skin interface.

Interventions

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Neural Prosthetic System

The Neural Prosthetic System is primarily composed of two NeuroPort Arrays. Each array is comprised of 100 microelectrodes (1.5 mm in length) uniformly organized on a 4 mm x 4 mm silicon base that is 0.25 mm thick. Each microelectrode is insulated with Parylene-C polymer and is electrically isolated from neighboring electrodes by non-conducting glass. Each microelectrode has a platinum tip that is 100-200 microns in length and offers impedance values from 100-800 kilo-ohms. Of the 100 electrodes, 96 are wire bonded using 25 micron gold alloy insulated wires collectively sealed with a silicone elastomer. The wire bundle is potted to a printed circuit board with epoxy, the printed circuit board is inserted into the Patient Pedestal (percutaneous connector), and then the Patient Pedestal is filled with silicone elastomer. Two fine platinum reference wires are also attached to the Patient Pedestal. The Patient Pedestal is 19 mm wide at the skin interface.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Other Intervention Names

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NeuroPort Array

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* High cervical spinal lesion
* Able to provide informed consent
* Able to understand and comply with instructions in English
* Able to communicate via speech
* Surgical clearance
* Life expectancy greater than 12 months
* Live within 60 miles of study location and willing to travel up to 5 days per week
* A regular caregiver to monitor the surgical site
* Psychosocial support system

Exclusion Criteria

* Presence of memory problems
* intellectual impairment
* Psychotic illness or chronic psychiatric disorder, including major depression
* Poor visual acuity
* Pregnancy
* Active infection or unexplained fever
* scalp lesions or skin breakdown
* HIV or AIDS infection
* Active cancer or chemotherapy
* Diabetes
* Autonomic dysreflexia
* History of seizure
* Implanted hydrocephalus shunt
* Previous neurosurgical history affecting parietal lobe function
* Medical conditions contraindicating surgery and chronic implantation of a medical device
* Prior cranioplasty
* Unable to undergo MRI or anticipated need for MRI during study
* Nursing an infant or unwilling to bottle-feed infant
* Chronic oral or intravenous use of steroids or immunosuppressive therapy
* Suicidal ideation
* Drug or alcohol dependence
* Planning to become pregnant, or unwilling to use adequate birth control
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

65 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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University of Southern California

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Richard A. Andersen, PhD

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Richard A. Andersen, PhD

James G. Boswell Professor of Neuroscience

Responsibility Role SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Richard A Andersen, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

California Institute of Technology

Charles Liu, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Southern California

Christi Heck, MD, PhD, MMM

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Southern California

Mindy Aisen, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Locations

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Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center

Downey, California, United States

Site Status

University of Southern California

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, California, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Bashford L, Rosenthal IA, Kellis S, Bjanes D, Pejsa K, Brunton BW, Andersen RA. Neural subspaces of imagined movements in parietal cortex remain stable over several years in humans. J Neural Eng. 2024 Aug 28;21(4):046059. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ad6e19.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 39134021 (View on PubMed)

Saif-Ur-Rehman M, Lienkamper R, Parpaley Y, Wellmer J, Liu C, Lee B, Kellis S, Andersen R, Iossifidis I, Glasmachers T, Klaes C. SpikeDeeptector: a deep-learning based method for detection of neural spiking activity. J Neural Eng. 2019 Jul 23;16(5):056003. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ab1e63.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 31042684 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol

View Document

Document Type: Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Study Documents

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Document Type: Publication

"Hand Shape Representation in Parietal Reach Region". The Journal of Neuroscience.

View Document

Document Type: Publication

"Decoding motor imagery from the posterior parietal cortex of a tetraplegic human." Science

View Document

Related Links

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Other Identifiers

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16384

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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