Digital doubles of patient airways could speed up bronchoscopy training
NCT ID NCT07718451
First seen Jul 22, 2026 · Last updated Jul 23, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This trial tests whether training novice bronchoscopists using computer-generated 'digital twin' models of real patient airways — showing a wide range of normal anatomical variations — can help them learn the procedure faster than traditional training with a single, uniform airway model. About 110 trainees with little to no prior bronchoscopy experience will be randomly assigned to one of the two training methods. Their early clinical performance will be measured over their first 30 supervised procedures to see if the digital twin group shows a steeper learning curve.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- multi-patient CT-derived digital twin anatomical variability training
- What this could lead to
- If effective, this training method could help novice doctors learn bronchoscopy faster and more safely, potentially improving patient outcomes.
- What could go wrong
- This is a relatively small, early-stage trial. The training may not translate to real-world clinical performance, and benefits might not be large enough to justify the cost and effort.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
-
About 110 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
May 2026
- Expected to finish
-
Dec 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 to 75 years
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Trainee Participants: 1. Residents, fellows, or specialty trainees in pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, thoracic surgery, anesthesiology, or related specialties whose training programs require flexible bronchoscopy training. 2. Previously performed ≤5 flexible bronchoscopies as primary operator. 3. No prior formal bronchoscopy simulation training course experience. 4. Able and willing to provide written informed consent and permit use of training logs, procedural videos, Ontario Bronchoscopy Assessment Tool (OBAT) scores, and clinical learning curve data for research purposes. Patient Participants: 1. Age ≥18 years. 2. Scheduled to undergo elective low-risk or low-to-moderate-risk diagnostic flexible bronchoscopy. 3. Clinically suitable for supervised novice-performed airway inspection, bronchoalveolar lavage, simple brushing, or other low-risk sampling procedures considered safe by the supervising bronchoscopist. 4. Able to understand and provide written informed consent and willing to complete pre-procedure anxiety and post-procedure experience questionnaires. Exclusion Criteria: Trainee Participants: 1. Previously performed \>5 flexible bronchoscopies or previously completed a structured bronchoscopy simulation training program. 2. Planned departure from the training program during the study period or anticipated inability to complete follow-up through at least clinical cases 1-30. 3. Unable to participate in simulation training or unwilling to permit procedural video recording. 4. Significant additional bronchoscopy training exposure outside the study protocol; such cases may not necessarily be excluded but will be documented and addressed in sensitivity analyses. Patient Participants: 1. Emergency bronchoscopy, intubated intensive care unit patients, severe hypoxemia, or significant hemodynamic instability. 2. Therapeutic bronchoscopy, complex central airway stenosis, high bleeding risk, procedures requiring advanced interventional techniques, or cases considered unsuitable for novice participation. 3. Complex sampling procedures such as EBUS-TBNA, transbronchial lung biopsy, or cryobiopsy will not be included in the primary endpoint case set and may be analyzed separately as exploratory subgroups or in future studies. 4. Refusal of trainee participation or refusal of procedural recording and/or questionnaire completion.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Bronchoscopy are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
China-Japan Friendship Hospital
RECRUITINGBeijing, Beijing Municipality, 100029, China
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a new sedative make bronchoscopy safer and smoother?
- AI could help doctors diagnose lung cancer faster during a bronchoscopy
- Special camera peers inside airways to reveal COVID-19's effect on lung blood vessels
- Can math training rewire Kids' brains? stanford launches new study
- Video before procedure calms nerves, study finds
- How safe is bronchoscopy for ILD patients? new study aims to find out