Can a pupil test replace pain scales for kids?
NCT ID NCT07336264
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a new device that measures pain by looking at changes in pupil size after a gentle electrical stimulation. Researchers will enroll 100 children and teens ages 6 to 21 who are having surgery or bone marrow transplant. The device is non-invasive and does not change any medical treatment. The goal is to find a more objective way to assess pain in young patients.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Dec 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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.
Who is studied
The study population includes children and adolescents ages 6 to 21 years receiving care at Children's National Hospital who are either undergoing elective surgical procedures or bone marrow transplantation. Participants will be followed prospectively and undergo non-invasive nociceptive measurements during routine clinical care, including periods before and after procedures and during inpatient follow-up. The study does not alter clinical management, and all treatments are provided according to standard of care.
- Ages
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6 to 21 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: * Children and adolescents ages 6 to 21 years * Undergoing elective surgical procedures without a history of chronic pain, OR undergoing or planning to undergo bone marrow transplantation (BMT) * Able to provide written informed assent and parental permission/consent, as applicable Exclusion Criteria: * Documented history of eye disease that precludes pupillometry * Unwilling or unable to participate
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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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Children's National Hospital
RECRUITINGWashington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States
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