ClinicalTrials.gg
Enrolling by invitationNCT00833599Updated Mar 10, 2026

Imaging Lymphatic Function in Normal Subjects and in Persons With Lymphatic Disorders

An observational study in Lymphedema, Lymphatic Disorders and Lipedema, sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. Enrolling by invitation at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 3 Months and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-10.

Sponsored by The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
283
Ages
3 Months and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the feasibility of near-infrared fluorescence imaging in subjects with acquired or hereditary lymphedema, in subjects with lipidema and other lymphovascular disorders and in normal health subjects; in order to attempt to correlate imaging phenotype(s) with genotype(s).

Read the detailed description

Currently, there is no method to assess lymphatic function in persons with acquired (developed following surgery or trauma) lymphedema, hereditary lymphedema or other lympho-vascular disorders. The causes of these disorders, and the means to distinguish between them, is not available from existing diagnostics. A method to monitor lymphatic function could assist in the development of new therapies, the prediction of a patient's susceptibility to develop these disorders, and the evaluation of patient's conditions or responses to therapy and treatment. In this Phase I/II trial, we inject Indocyanine Green (ICG) off-label as a lymph contrast agent and use a custom designed fluorescence imager to conduct near-infrared fluorescence imaging to dynamically follow lymphatic trafficking in subjects. Blood is also collected for DNA analysis. The resulting images are analyzed, and the phenotypes observed in both normal and diseased subjects are used to correlate to mutations of specific genes reported to be associated with lymphatic development.

02

Conditions studied

  • Lymphedema
  • Lymphatic Disorders
  • Lipedema
  • Vascular Malformation
  • Vascular Anomaly
  • Dercum Disease

Keywords

  • Lymphedema
  • Genetic
  • Lymphatic Disorder
  • Lipedema
  • Vascular Malformation
  • Vascular Anomaly
  • Dercum Disease
03

In context

Lymphedema

529 studies on the registry are indexed under Lymphedema; 131 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 283 is above the median of 103 across 145 observational studies indexed under Lymphedema.

Browse Lymphedema studies →

Lead sponsor

The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston is the lead sponsor of 897 studies on the registry; 214 are open to participants now.

Of its 173 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 142 (82%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
3 Months and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

1) Persons with lymphatic dysfunction (e.g. lymphedema, lipedema, dercums, etc.), 2) Persons with vascular malformation that suggest a lymphatic component, 3) Family members of persons, whom participated in this study, with a lymphatic dysfunction or vascular malformation that suggests a lymphatic component and 3) Healthy, normal individuals as controls

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria for Participation in NIRFLI with ICG (Group 1):

  1. Negative urine pregnancy test within 36 hours prior to study drug administration, if female of .
  2. Females must complete the Female Enrollment Form. Those subjects of childbearing potential must agree to use one of the medically accepted methods of listed on the form for a period of one month following the study. Female subjects of non-childbearing potential, defined as physiologically incapable of becoming pregnant, must meet the criteria listed on the Female Enrollment form, but are not restricted to the use of contraception following study participation.
  3. Subjects must be able to lie on their backs for periods of 10 minutes at at time for up to a total of 60 minutes.
  4. Children must be able to remain reasonably still for the time required for imaging.
  5. Subjects with lymphatic dysfunction must be diagnosed with lymphedema, lipedema, or vascular malformation/anomaly that suggests a lymphatic component.

Exclusion Criteria for Participation in NIRFLI with ICG (Group 1):

  1. Persons with mobililty issues that could make participating too difficult
  2. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding
  3. Persons who are allergic to iodine
  4. Persons who weigh in excess of 400 lbs
  5. If the subject is a female of child-bearing potential, she must agree to use a contraceptive for one month after study participation.
  6. Persons who do not meet inclusion criteria.

Inclusion Criteria for Participation in Genetic Analysis Only (Group 2):

  1. The subject has a family member with lymphatic dysfunction.
  2. The subject is willing to have blood drawn or saliva collected for DNA analysis

Exclusion Criteria for Participation in Genetic Analysis Only (Group 2):

1) The subject has experienced a medical problem from a prior blood draw

Terms in these criteria, in plain language(2)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Childbearing potential

Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).

Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.

Contraception

Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.

Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.

05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrollment
283 participants (estimated)
Biospecimen retention
Samples with dna

Groups and cohorts

  • 1: NIRFLI with ICG

    1\) Persons affected with lymphatic or lympho-vascular disorders, 2) Family members (affected or unaffected) of persons affected with lymphatic or lympho-vascular disorders and 3) Health, normal persons (Controls) that participate at one of the clinical sites in both the lymphatic function imaging with indocyanine green and the Near-infrared Fluorescence Lymphatic Imaging (NIRFLI) system, as well, as the genetic analysis portion of the study.

    Drug: NIRFLI with ICG

  • 2: Genetic Analysis Only

    Family members of an affected subject from Group 1. Subjects in Group 2 can be either affected or unaffected and will provide a blood or saliva sample for the genetic analysis portion of the study, but will not undergo lymphatic function imaging with ICG and the NIRFLI system. Group 2 individuals are not required to travel to one of the clinical sites in order to participate in the study.

Interventions

  • DrugNIRFLI with ICG

    Drug page: Indocyanine Green

    We conduct Near-infrared Fluorescence Lymphatic Imaging following the off-label use of Indocyanine Green as a lymph contrast agent and the use of a custom designed fluorescence imager to dynamically follow lymphatic trafficking in subjects. We seek to use the resulting phenotypes acquired in normal and diseased patients to correlate to mutations of specific genes reported to be associated with lymphatic development.

    Also known as: IC-Green, Cardio-Green, ICG, Near-infrared Fluorescence Lymphatic Imaging (NIRFLI)

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging (NIRFLI) provides informaton on lymphatic function or dysfunction to diagnose disorders

    Time frame: Images are collected for up to 3 hours after injection with indocyanine green

07

Study locations

3 sites
  • Lymphedema Clinic at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • UT Physicians Pediatric Surgery Clinic
    Houston, Texas 77030, United States
  • Wound Care Clinic at CHI St. Luke's The Woodland's Hospital
    The Woodlands, Texas 77384, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Rasmussen JC, Tan IC, Marshall MV, Fife CE, Sevick-Muraca EM. Lymphatic imaging in humans with near-infrared fluorescence. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2009 Feb;20(1):74-82. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2009.01.009. Epub 2009 Feb 23. PubMed 19233639 ↗
  • Rasmussen JC, Zvavanjanja RC, Aldrich MB, Greives MR, Sevick-Muraca EM. Near-infrared fluorescence lymphatic imaging of Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome. J Vasc Surg Venous Lymphat Disord. 2017 Jul;5(4):533-537. doi: 10.1016/j.jvsv.2017.01.011. PubMed 28623992 ↗
09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 10, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00833599
Collaborators
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Lymphatic Malformation Institute, Lipedema Foundation
Responsible party
Eva Sevick (Professor of Molecular Medicine; Director of Center for Molecular Imaging, The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston) — Principal investigator
First posted
Feb 2, 2009
Start date
Jan 2009
Primary completion
Dec 1, 2030 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 1, 2030 (estimated)
Last update
Mar 10, 2026

Study contacts

Eva M Sevick, PhD
principal investigator · The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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