Spinal stimulation and special air may help spinal injury patients breathe easier
NCT ID NCT07135583
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests two non-invasive techniques to improve breathing in people with chronic spinal cord injury. Participants will receive spinal cord stimulation and breathe special air mixtures to strengthen breathing muscles. The study involves 20 adults with incomplete spinal cord injuries and aims to find biomarkers that predict who benefits most.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation and hypercapnic-hypoxia (special air mixtures)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could lead to a new non-invasive therapy that improves breathing and reduces lung infection risk in people with chronic spinal cord injury.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-phase study with only 20 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The techniques are experimental and may not produce lasting improvements.
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 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
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.
- Ages
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18 to 70 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. adults 18 to 70 years of age (the latter to reduce likelihood of cardiovascular disease); 2. chronic SCI for ≥ 1 year at or below C-3 to T-8 3. incomplete SCI based on classification of incomplete-B, C or D 4. medically stable with clearance from physician 5. SCI due to non-progressive etiology 6. \>20% impairment in maximal inspiratory or expiratory pressure generation Exclusion Criteria: * Individuals will be excluded due to (1) current diagnosis of an additional neurologic condition (eg. multiple sclerosis or stroke) (2) loss of diaphragm EMG activity on forced respiratory tests; (3) severe illness or infection (4) non-healing decubitus ulcers (5) untreated bladder or urinary infections (6) cardiovascular disease (7) lung disease (8) active heterotopic ossification (9) uncontrolled hypertension; (10) severe neuropathic pain; (11) pregnancy (5) severe recurrent and uncontrolled autonomic dysreflexia (6) history of seizure disorder.
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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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Thomas Jefferson University Center City Campus
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19107, United States
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can a robotic glove restore hand function after stroke or injury?
- Robotic leg trainer put to the test for restoring gait after paralysis and surgery