Could a cool eye zap away chronic pain?
NCT ID NCT07059754
First seen Jun 24, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This small study tests a device that cools the eye surface to see if it helps people with chronic eye pain. Five participants will get a single 4-minute cold treatment and be followed for 12 weeks. Researchers will take pictures of the eye's nerves and collect tear samples to look for changes in inflammation and structure.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- ETX-4143 topical ophthalmic cooling device
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to ease chronic eye pain by cooling the eye surface.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, tiny study with only 5 people. It is designed to see if the device is safe and worth studying further, not to prove it works. The results may not apply to everyone with eye pain.
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
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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
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About 5 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Aug 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2026
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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22 to 90 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: * Documented symptoms of COSP pain for at least 3 months * A score of ≥5 on the single question COP-Q Eye Pain Severity Module * Able to obtain sufficient quality corneal in-vivo confocal microscopy images Exclusion Criteria: * Less than 50% improvement in VAS Eye Pain score after topical 0.5% proparacaine hydrochloride at screening * Subjects with clinically significant corneal scarring that could limit the confocal microscopy * Insufficient number of corneal nerves to permit Fun-IVCM imaging
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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.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Sunshine Eye Surgeons
RECRUITINGMelbourne, Victoria, 3021, Australia
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