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Sound waves aimed at the brain could tame seizures

NCT ID NCT06388707

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 16, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This early study tests a device that uses low-intensity focused ultrasound to calm overactive brain areas in people with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy. Eight adults will receive up to three 10-minute ultrasound sessions. Researchers will track side effects and check if seizure frequency changes. The goal is to see if this non-invasive approach is safe and worth studying further.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
low-intensity focused ultrasound (LIFU) device
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a non-invasive treatment option for people with drug-resistant epilepsy, potentially reducing seizure frequency without surgery.
What could go wrong
This is a very small, early pilot study with only 8 participants, so results may not apply widely. The treatment is still experimental, and safety and effectiveness are not yet proven.

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

Phase 1/2

Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.

Participants

About 8 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Sep 2024

Expected to finish

Oct 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Male or female patients ≥ 18 years of age at the time of enrollment. 2. Patients with drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (DR-TLE), defined as failure of adequate trials of two tolerated, appropriately chosen and used anti-epileptic drug schedules (whether as monotherapies or in combination). 3. Focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalization and no more than two known seizure onset zones (seizure foci), at least one which is in the mesial temporal lobe. 4. At least 4 focal-onset seizures with objectively visible or significantly disabling manifestations in the 8-week baseline and at least one seizure per month in the baseline. 5. MRI and EEG within the past 3 years. At least one prior EEG should demonstrate interictal or ictal focal epileptiform findings. 6. Patients with the central of FUS exposure region are located at least 30 mm distance beneath the skull bone. 7. Patients must be on a stable regimen of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) for at least 30 days at the time of enrollment, except for rescue benzodiazepines or occasional extra doses of ongoing medicines, as required. 8. Females of childbearing potential must have a negative pregnancy test prior to the first treatment. Females of childbearing potential and male patients with a partner of childbearing potential must agree to follow acceptable method of contraception (as outlined below) from prior to the first study treatment to 3 months after the last study treatment. Standard acceptable methods include use of highly effective method of contraception, including: hormonal contraception, diaphragm, cervical cap, vaginal sponge, condom, spermicide, vasectomy, intrauterine device, and abstinence from sex. 9. Patients are able and willing to comply with study procedures, with or without hair shaving in the region where the coupling membrane will touch (or if they prefer, whole head). 10. Patients are able to complete all clinical trial-related questionnaires in English, including with the use of a suitable interpreter. 11. Patients or their legal representatives are able to provide written informed consent for participation in the trial and comply with study requirements in the opinion of the Investigator during the study period. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients who have primary generalized epilepsy, mixed focal and generalized epilepsy, or any history of non-epileptic seizures. 2. Patients who have experienced tonic-clonic status epilepticus in the 12 months before the time of enrollment in the study. Subjects with focal status epilepticus may be considered at the discretion of the Investigator. 3. The only feasible sonication pathway to the seizure onset zones involves either: 1. Skull area is covered by previous surgical site(s), scars, scalp disorders (e.g., eczema, psoriasis), or scalp atrophy. 2. Clips or other metallic implanted objects in the skull or brain, except shunts. 3. A prior craniotomy site. 4. Patients with a potentially acute or progressive neurologic disorder (e.g., brain tumor, multiple sclerosis, dementia, or intracranial vascular lesion). 5. Implanted electronic device, for example, implanted cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), cardiac pacemaker, permanent medication pumps, cochlear implants, responsive neurostimulator, deep brain stimulation (DBS), or other electronic devices implanted in the brain. If a patient has a working Vagus Nerve Stimulator (VNS) in place, the settings should remain stable throughout the trial and the device will be turned off prior to each sonication treatment and then turned back on afterward. 6. Patients with severe depression, active suicidal ideation or behavior (as per the C-SSRS), active psychosis (excluding time-limited postictal psychosis), or psychiatric hospitalization in the year before time of enrollment. 7. Patient has an IQ \< 70, based on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI-II or other Wechsler IQ measure). 8. Coexisting medical problems of sufficient severity to limit compliance with or interpretation of the study. 9. Patients have received an investigational drug or an investigational device within 4 weeks prior to the first treatment. 10. Radiofrequency thermocoagulation (RFTC) within 2 months before time of enrollment. 11. Known history of substance or alcohol abuse within the past year, not counting marijuana. 12. Pregnant or breast-feeding women. 13. Any other condition that, in the Investigator's judgment, might affect study endpoints or might increase the risk to the patients or decrease the chance of obtaining satisfactory data needed to achieve the objectives of the study.

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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.

  1. The places running it

    3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. 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

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States

  • Stanford University School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Palo Alto, California, 94305, United States

  • University of Virginia School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Charlottesville, Virginia, 22903, United States

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