Could a zappy headband save your sight? stanford tests new glaucoma device
NCT ID NCT06685211
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether a device called Eyetronic, which delivers mild electrical pulses through the eyes, can help people with glaucoma. Glaucoma damages the optic nerve and can lead to vision loss. The trial will compare the active device to a sham (fake) version in 30 adults with moderate glaucoma. Researchers will measure changes in vision and eye structure over three months to see if the stimulation helps protect sight.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Eyetronic rtACS device (non-invasive electrical stimulation)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new, non-invasive way to slow vision loss and preserve sight in people with glaucoma.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small early-stage trial with only 30 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The treatment is also compared to a sham device, so any benefit might be small or due to a placebo effect.
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 30 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 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 years and older
- 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: * Participant must be at least 18. * Participant must has the ability to comply with the requirements of the study and complete the schedule of events (SOE). * Participant's clinical diagnosis must be consistent with primary open angle glaucoma (including but not limited to normal tension, low tension or general open angle) characterized by the following features: Mean deviation (MD) worse than -6 but better than -20 on reliable Humphrey Visual Field 24-2 testing * Participant's eye pressure must be clinically stable, with IOP \< 18. * If a participant has two eyes meeting study criteria, the worse eye as determined by visual field index (VFI) or patient preference, will be deemed includable. If both eyes qualify and have the same VFI, the patient may choose which eye they are willing to enter, or else a randomization procedure will assign one eye to the study. * Participant must understand and sign the informed consent. If the participant's vision is impaired to the point where he/she cannot read the informed consent document, the document will be read to the participant in its entirety. Exclusion Criteria: * Participant is unable to comply with study procedures or follow-up visits. * Participant has a history of ocular herpes zoster. * Participant has a requirement of acyclovir and/or related products during study duration. To be eligible for this study, the participant must discontinue use of these products prior to enrollment and must not continue with the products until after they have completed the study. * Participant has evidence of corneal opacification or lack of optical clarity. * Participant has uveitis or other ocular inflammatory disease. * Participant is receiving systemic steroids or other immunosuppressive medications. * Participant is currently participating in or has within the last 3 months participated in any other clinical trial of a drug by ocular (if in the study eye) or systemic administration. * Participant is pregnant or lactating. * Participant has, in the opinion of the investigator, any physical or mental condition that would increase the risk of participation in the study or may interfere with the study procedures, evaluations and outcome assessments. * Patients with opened skull, after trepanation or with heart and brain pacemaker. * Patients with implanted intracranial metals such as clippings, coilings, ventriculo-peritoneal shunts, endoprosthesis etc. * Patients with any skin damage in the area of electrode placement. * Children and comatose patients. * Patients with recent history of epileptic seizure. * Patients with uncontrolled high levels of blood pressure (\<160 mmHg) or uncontrolled high levels of intraocular pressure (\<27 mmHg). * Patients abusing drugs or alcohol.
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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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
Show contact details
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Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor
Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Byers Eye Institute at Stanford University
RECRUITINGPalo Alto, California, 94303, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Can better Follow-Up schedules save sight in glaucoma?
- Portable devices could take the guesswork out of eye pressure checks
- Eye drops may shield the cornea after cataract surgery
- Vitamin B3 may shield retinal nerves in glaucoma
- Can a puff of air replace the eye pressure probe?