Ultrasound breakthrough could help ICU patients breathe easier

NCT ID NCT03657524

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Assistance Publique Hopitaux De Marseille Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether a special ultrasound technique, called speckle tracking, can predict if a patient on a breathing machine will fail when doctors try to let them breathe on their own. Researchers will scan the heart and lungs of 110 ICU patients during a weaning trial. If the method works, it could give doctors a more accurate way to decide the right time to remove the breathing tube.

What this could mean

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

What this could lead to: If successful, this could give doctors a better tool to decide when to safely remove a breathing tube, reducing complications and time in intensive care.
What could go wrong: This is an early observational study with only 110 participants. The ultrasound technique may not prove accurate enough to change practice, and results may not apply to all patients.

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

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

About 110 people

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

Started

May 2019

Expected to finish

May 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Accepted

You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.

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: \- Patients hospitalized in intensive care unit under mechanical fulfilling the criteria of ventilation weaning trial. Exclusion Criteria: * Less than 18 years old. * Pregnancy * Non sinusal cardiac rhythm * Neuro Myopathy * Tracheotomy * Lack of echogenicity to perform at least a four chamber apical view

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As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Weaning failure of mechanical ventilation

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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.

Ultrasound breakthrough could help ICU patients breathe easier

What the study statuses mean