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Brain-Oscillation-Synchronized Stimulation to Enhance Motor Recovery in Early Subacute Stroke

Brain-Oscillation-Synchronized Stimulation to Enhance Motor Recovery in Early Subacute Stroke

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05600374
Acronym
Boss-Stroke
Enrollment
144
Registered
2022-10-31
Start date
2023-02-06
Completion date
2028-02-28
Last updated
2026-05-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Ischemic Stroke, Acute

Keywords

Oscillation, motor recovery, Transcranial magnetic stimulation, EEG-synchronized

Brief summary

We will investigate the therapeutic efficacy of EEG-synchronized noninvasive repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in the early subacute phase after ischemic stroke to improve upper limb motor rehabilitation. We hypothesize that synchronization of rTMS with the phase of the ongoing sensorimotor oscillation indicating high corticospinal excitability leads to significantly stronger improvement of paretic upper limb motor function than the same rTMS protocol non-synchronized to the ongoing sensorimotor oscillation or sham stimulation.

Detailed description

High-frequency rTMS will be applied to the ipsilesional motor cortex in 400 bursts of 100 Hz triplets with a mean inter-burst interval of 3 s (20 min treatment duration, 1,200 pulses per day) for 5 consecutive workdays (6,000 pulses total) at a stimulus intensity of 80% of resting motor threshold, in one of three conditions/arms, followed by 40 min task-specific hand/arm-physiotherapy.

Interventions

DEVICEBossdevice

The bossdevice is a real-time digital signal processor consisting of hardware and software algorithms. It is designed to read-in a real-time raw data stream from a bio-signal amplifier (electroencephalography, EEG), to continuously analyze this data and to detect patterns based on oscillations in different frequencies. When such a specific bio-signal pattern is detected, the device indicates this through a standard output port. This enables a connected device to know with millisecond accuracy when a specific biosignal pattern occurs.

Sponsors

University Hospital Tuebingen
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE (Subject, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

The study is a multicenter randomized controlled double-blind three-arm parallel-group exploratory clinical trial. The subjects as well as the as the rater in the post- and the follow-up assessment will be blinded to the intervention condition the patient receives.

Intervention model description

Multicenter randomized controlled double-blind three-arm parallel-group exploratory clinical trial Medical Device Regulation (MDR) clinical trail

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

Subjects meeting all of the following criteria will be considered for admission to the trial: 1. Age ≥ 18 years at the time of signing the informed consent. 2. Cerebral ischemia identified by brain imaging (cerebral MRI or CT) occurred 1-14 days ago. 3. Subject understands and voluntarily signs an informed consent document prior to any study related assessments/procedures. 4. Stroke has resulted in a new arm-/hand motor deficit with ≤ 50 points in the FMA-UE. 5. Presence of motor evoked potentials (MEPs) in the paretic hand. MEPs has to be obtained in the resting muscle o If no MEPs can be obtained, MEP search procedure can be repeated later up to 14 days after stroke onset. 6. ● μ-oscillation (8-12 Hz) is recordable by EEG in the ipsilesional sensorimotor cortex with a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio of at least 3 dB 7. ● Subject is able to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements.

Exclusion criteria

Subjects presenting with any of the following criteria will not be included in the trial: 1. Hemorrhagic stroke (this refers to primary intracerebral hemorrhage only; hemorrhagic transformation of ischemic infarcts is not an exclusion criterion) 2. Estimated life expectancy \< 12 months 3. Presence of intracranial ferromagnetic metal (extracranial stents ≥10 cm away from the TMS coil are acceptable) in accordance with current safety guidelines \[18\] 4. Intraocular metal, cochlear implants 5. If TMS might interact with sensors of active implants (e.g., intra-cardiac defibrillators). 6. If a cranial bone gap affects currents induced by TMS (such as after craniotomy). 7. History of seizures or epilepsy. 8. Treatment intervention can't be started within 14 days after onset of stroke. 9. Women during pregnancy and lactation. 10. Participation in other studies if they are MDR or AMG studies or there is otherwise a high risk of insurance law issues intervening between two studies. In case of uncertainty, competing insurances must be contacted prior to participation 11. persistent addiction disorder (except for nicotine dependence) 12. CNS malignoma 13. If there is any concern by the investigator regarding the safe participation of the subject in the study or for any other reason the investigator considers the subject inappropriate for participation in the study. 14. The ability to consent for patients who are unable to speak will be assessed on the basis of the NIHS-Score by an independent physician (details see chapter 21 and appendix).

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Motor performance after the interventionAfter the last treatment session (5 days after first treatment)Primary efficacy endpoint is the motor performance after the intervention, as assessed by the Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA-UE, range 0-66, 0 = no motor function, 66 = normal motor function) of the upper extremity (FMA-UE). The upper-extremity (UE) portion of the Fugl-Meyer assessment is the most frequently used scale to quantify post-stroke motor recovery of the upper extremity. The FMA-UE was used as an endpoint in most of the recent high-frequency rTMS trials in early subacute stroke patients.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
grip strengthAt screening and after 3 months after treatmentRelative grip strength measured with a vigorimeter (measured in kg).
Assessment to measure quality of lifeAt screening and after 3 months after treatmentStroke-Specific Quality-of-Life Scale (SS-QOL)
Motor performance after 3 months3 months after the interventionMotor performance 3 months after the intervention, as assessed by the FMA-UE
Barthel IndexAt screening and after 3 months after treatmentBarthel Index (ordinary scale ordinal scale 0-100, 0 = fully dependent, 100 =independent in feeding, walking and grooming)
inpatient/npatient rehabilitationAt screening and after 3 months after treatment* Number of days as an inpatient (in days) * Number of days in inpatient rehabilitation (in days)
modified Rankin Scale ScoreAt screening and after 3 months after treatmentRankin Scale Score (range 0-6, 0 = no disability, 6 =death)

Countries

Germany

Contacts

CONTACTUlf Ziemann, Prof. Dr.
Ulf.Ziemann@med.uni-tuebingen.de+49 7071 29
CONTACTSven Poli, Dr.
sven.poli@med.uni.tuebingen.de

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 16, 2026