New handheld gadget aims to stop COPD breathlessness in its tracks
NCT ID NCT05938738
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a small, hands-free device called PEP-buddy that creates gentle pressure when you breathe out. It is designed to quickly relieve sudden shortness of breath in people with COPD. Researchers will have 25 participants use the device for 4 weeks to measure if it reduces breathlessness and improves quality of life.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- PEP-buddy (a portable, hands-free device that creates positive pressure during exhalation)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a simple, drug-free way for people with COPD to quickly relieve sudden breathlessness during daily activities.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early study with only 25 people, so results may not apply to everyone. The device is still experimental and its long-term benefits and safety are not yet known.
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 25 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2024
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
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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40 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: 1. Age ≥40 years 2. Read, understood and signed Informed Consent 3. COPD Gold class II-IV/ B or E (FEV1\<60% of predicted, CAT ≥10 points) 5\. Optimized standard therapy according to the study physician 6. Episodic breathlessness requiring intervention (i.e. taking rest during physical activities, as needed inhalation medication, breathing techniques, as needed opioids) at least three days per week Exclusion Criteria: 1. Other severe disease causing episodic breathlessness 2. Life expectancy ≤ 3 months 3. Exacerbation of COPD 4 weeks prior to inclusion 4. Change in COPD management targeted at breathlessness 8 weeks prior to inclusion 5. Inability to use the PEP buddy device 6. Currently participating in another interventional clinical study 7. Any other conditions, which, in the opinion of the investigator would make the patient unsuitable for inclusion, or could interfere with the patient participating in or completing 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.
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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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UMCG
RECRUITINGGroningen, Provincie Groningen, 9700 RB, Netherlands
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