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RecruitingNCT03203239Updated May 1, 2026

Red Light Treatment in Peripheral Artery Disease

An interventional study of Red Light (670 nm energy) and Octafluoropropane in Peripheral Artery Disease, Claudication, Intermittent and Vasodilation, sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 85 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-05-01.

Sponsored by University of Alabama at Birmingham · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
40
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 85 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Subjects with a known diagnosis of peripheral artery disease as measured by an abnormal ankle brachial index (\<.9 or >1.1) will undergo a single 5 min exposure of 670 nm light, 1 cm above the gastrocnemius muscle. Blood flow will be measured by infusion of ultrasound contrast and subsequent acquisition of ultrasound images. 2 blood samples will be collected for measurement of nitric oxide metabolites.

Read the detailed description

The intent of this protocol is to measure blood flow in the gastrocnemius muscle in patients with documented peripheral artery disease before and after exposure to 670 nm light energy. The study consists of one visit. Blood flow measurement will be performed using contrast enhanced ultrasound, a method by which ultrasound contrast is continuously infused into the blood stream. Ultrasound records images in the area of interest and flow is related to the intensity of the contrast in each image. Blood will be drawn to measure nitric oxide metabolites. The study is designed to consist of one visit. However, if the protocol changes or the data quality initially collected is uninterpretable, subjects may be asked to return to allow for a standard methodology across all participants. In this case, the subjects who are asked to return will be subject to the same informed consent process a second time. The two visits will be at least one week apart to further reduce the already minimal risks of the study. This will also limit the number of study participants required to gather the necessary data to complete the study, thereby limiting the risks of the study to a smaller number of participants.

02

Conditions studied

  • Peripheral Artery Disease
  • Claudication, Intermittent
  • Vasodilation

Keywords

  • red light
  • vasodilation
  • nitric oxide
03

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 85 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • Participants will be subjects between the ages of 18 and 85 who have been diagnosed with peripheral artery disease. Men and women will be recruited for participation. All ethnicities will be included in this study.

Diagnosis of peripheral artery disease is defined as an Ankle Brachial index of \<0.9 or greater than 1.1 either at rest or during treadmill exercise.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Exclusionary criteria include age under 18 years and over 85 years, those who are unable to understand the consent process , those who cannot read or speak English, active pregnancy, hypersensitivity to perflutren contrast agents, pulmonary hypertension, active illicit drug use, untreated blood pressure over 160/95, sickle cell disease, or a history of intracardiac shunt. Additional exclusion criteria neurological diseases such as spinal stenosis, unspecified pain disorders, and any uncontrolled medical conditions.
04

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
40 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Red Light treatment

    This is a single arm design. All subjects will be enrolled to have peripheral blood flow measured before, during, and after red light exposure.

    Device: Red Light (670 nm energy) · Drug: Octafluoropropane

Interventions

  • DeviceRed Light (670 nm energy)

    Light Emitting Diode light source (670 nm wavelength with output up to 75mW/cm2) will be placed over the gastrocnemius muscle. The light will be on for 5 minutes.

  • DrugOctafluoropropane

    All subjects will undergo infusion of octafluoropropane to measure peripheral blood flow.

    Also known as: Definity

05

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in blood flow

    Video intensity units from contrast images will be converted to ml/min/g tissue

    Time frame: Baseline, 5 min of light, and up to 1 min after discontinuation of light

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in nitric oxide metabolites

    NO measurement by ozone chemiluminescence

    Time frame: Baseline and 1 min after discontinuation of light

06

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Medical College of Wisconsin
    Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, United States
    Recruiting
07

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

08

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03203239
Lead sponsor
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Responsible party
Nicole Lohr (Professor, University of Alabama at Birmingham) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 29, 2017
Start date
Jan 17, 2018
Primary completion
Dec 31, 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 31, 2028 (estimated)
Last update
May 1, 2026

Study contacts

Nicole L Lohr, MD,PHD
Contact
nlohr@uabmc.edu
414-996-3504
Nicole L Lohr, MD,PHD
principal investigator · Medical College of Wisconsin

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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