New implant aims to release trapped air in lungs of COPD patients
NCT ID NCT06891755
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a permanent implant called the Apreo BREATHE Airway Scaffold in up to 250 adults with COPD and emphysema who still feel short of breath despite standard treatments. The implant is designed to prop open airways and release trapped air to improve breathing. Researchers will check if the procedure is safe and if it helps lung function over 3 years.
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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 250 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jul 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2029
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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40 to 84 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 1. Subject is at least 40, but not older than 84, years of age. 2. Subject has body mass index (BMI) of between 18 and 32, inclusive. 3. Subject has completed a documented pulmonary rehabilitation program within 12 months prior to Baseline. 4. Subject has mMRC score ≥ 2. 5. Subject can walk ≥100 meters in 6 minutes. 6. Subject has ≥25% emphysema destruction score in each lung as quantified on baseline HRCT scan (low attenuation area less than -950HU) as determined by the CT core lab. 7. Subject has homogeneous or heterogeneous emphysema, and at least one lung has a 15% difference between upper and lower lobes in emphysema destruction score (-910HU) as determined by the CT core lab. 8. Subject has bilateral heterogenous emphysema and pre-procedure post-bronchodilator RV ≥ 180% predicted, or one lung with homogenous emphysema and pre-procedure postbronchodilator RV ≥ 200% predicted. 9. Subject has pre-procedure post-bronchodilator FEV1/ FVC \< 0.70. 10. Subject has a pre-procedure post-bronchodilator FEV1 percent predicted of ≥15% and ≤45%. 11. Subject has pre-procedure post-bronchodilator RV/TLC ≥ 0.55. 12. Subject has pre-procedure DLCO ≥ 20%. 13. Subject has been receiving optimal medical management tailored to subject needs for 2 months prior to enrollment. 14. Subject has not actively smoked (including tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarettes, vaping, etc.) within the last 4 months, and agrees to smoking cessation during the study. 15. Subject has received preventative vaccinations (or documented clinical intolerance) against potential respiratory infections, including pneumococcus, influenza, RSV (subjects \>60 yrs. old) and Covid-19, consistent with local recommendations or policy. 16. In the opinion of the Primary investigator, subject can undergo bronchoscopy under general anesthesia and is able to adhere to the study follow-up schedule. 17. Subject has provided written informed consent. * Exclusion Criteria 1. Subject has known unresolved lower respiratory tract infection (e.g., pneumonia, mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection (MAI), fungus, tuberculosis). 2. Subject has a steroid-dependent condition requiring (e.g. ≥10 mg oral corticosteroid per day). 3. Subject has bilateral lobar emphysematous destruction scores of \>70% percent of voxels with \<-950 Hounsfield units on thin slice inspiratory CT, as determined by the CT core lab. 4. Subject has arterial or capillary blood on room air: PaCO2 \> 50 mmHg (8 kPa) or PaO2 ≤ 45 mmHg (6 kPa). 5. Subject has had ≥2 hospitalization for acute exacerbations of COPD or ≥3 moderate exacerbations/respiratory infections in the year prior to enrollment. 6. Subject has had previous lung volume reduction surgery, lobectomy, pneumonectomy, segmentectomy, bullectomy, lung transplantation, vapor, glue, or other pulmonary device implant (unless the device has been removed at least 3 months prior to consent). 7. Subject has known or suspected history of pulmonary arterial hypertension (e.g. PASP \> 50mmHg on echocardiogram in absence of confirmation on a right heart catheterization or mPAP \> 25mmHg on a right heart catheterization). 8. Subject has presence of a giant bulla (≥ 30% of hemithorax). 9. Subject has significant symptom burden due to currently active adult asthma based on GINA criteria and/or chronic bronchitis as their primary diagnosis. 10. Subject has presence of suspicious radiological abnormalities on HRCT scan such as pulmonary nodule/infiltrate that in judgement of the PI, may require intervention during course of the study. 11. Subject has clinically significant bronchiectasis (\>4 TBS / 45mL mucus production/day, per subject estimate) influencing subject's COPD symptoms. 12. Subject has unresolved lung cancer. 13. Subject has a serious medical condition that, in the Primary investigator's opinion, could compromise patient safety or confound the interpretation of the patient's response to therapy (e.g., congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy (documented LVEF ≤40%), or myocardial infarction in the past year, renal failure, liver disease cerebrovascular accident within the past 6 months, uncontrolled diabetes (HbA1c \>8%), uncontrolled hypertension (diastolic BP \>110 mmHg or systolic \>200 mmHg) or autoimmune disease requiring treatment with immunosuppressant medications or a disease requiring chemotherapy. 14. Subject is on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy for cardiovascular indications and, at the discretion of the Primary investigator, is unable to have anticoagulants withheld for a bronchoscopy procedure per institution's standard of care. 15. Subject has invasive mechanical ventilator dependency. 16. Subject is pregnant, lactating, or of childbearing potential and plans to become pregnant during study duration. 17. Subject has known hypersensitivity to Nitinol (nickel-titanium alloy) or its constituent metals (nickel or titanium). 18. Subject is significantly immunocompromised, such as organ transplant recipients, those with congenital immune deficiencies, AIDS, or severe rheumatoid arthritis. 19. Subject has sensitivity or allergy to medications necessary for bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. 20. Subject is currently participating in another study involving an investigational product that could confound the study results or affect the subject's COPD symptoms. 21. Subject has within the 2 years prior to consent, had a severe respiratory infection with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) that required ICU support with non-invasive and/or invasive mechanical ventilation.
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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
22 sites in 4 countries. 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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Banner Health
RECRUITINGGilbert, Arizona, 85234, United States
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Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
RECRUITINGBoston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
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Cleveland Clinic Foundation
RECRUITINGCleveland, Ohio, 44103, United States
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Clinical Research Associates of Central Pennsylvania
RECRUITINGDuBois, Pennsylvania, 15801, United States
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Houston Methodist/Primary Critical Care
RECRUITINGHouston, Texas, 77030, United States
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Inova Health Care Services
RECRUITINGFalls Church, Virginia, 22042, United States
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Karl Landsteiner Institute - Klink Floridsdorf
RECRUITINGVienna, A-1210, Austria
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Mayo Clinic
RECRUITINGJacksonville, Florida, 32224, United States
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Medical College of Wisconsin
RECRUITINGMilwaukee, Wisconsin, 53226, United States
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OSF St Francis Medical Center
RECRUITINGPeoria, Illinois, 61637, United States
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Orlando Health
RECRUITINGOrlando, Florida, 32806, United States
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Royal Brompton Hospital
RECRUITINGLondon, SW36JY, United Kingdom
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St. Bartholomew's Hospital
RECRUITINGLondon, EC1A 7BE, United Kingdom
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Temple University
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19140, United States
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The Ohio State University
RECRUITINGColumbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
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University Medical Center Groningen
RECRUITINGGroningen, 9713 GZ, Netherlands
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University of Alabama at Birmingham
RECRUITINGBirmingham, Alabama, 35233, United States
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University of California at Davis
RECRUITINGSacramento, California, 95817, United States
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University of Chicago
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60637, United States
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University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute
RECRUITINGKansas City, Kansas, 66160, United States
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University of Michigan
RECRUITINGAnn Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
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University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
RECRUITINGPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, United States
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