ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03228641Updated Mar 25, 2026

Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Micro-coring Device for Treatment of Facial Wrinkles and Skin Laxity

An interventional study of micro-excisional skin removal with coring needle in Wrinkle and Facial and Neck Skin Laxity, sponsored by Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc.. Completed at 6 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 40 Years to 75 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-03-25.

Sponsored by Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc. · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was Aug 2017, 9 years 2 months ago, and no results have been posted to the registry.
  • Registered 8 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jun 2016, registered Feb 2017).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
45
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
40 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

A pilot study is designed to evaluate safety and efficacy of the Micro-Coring (MC) technology for treatment of facial wrinkles. MC device employs hollow coring needles that enable safe, rapid, and effective full-thickness small skin cores (200-500 microns in diameter) removal initiating a skin repair process through formation of new collagen and elastin fibers (skin rejuvenation).

Read the detailed description

This is a prospective, multi-center, randomized, single blind, bilateral paired study evaluating the safety, tolerability and preliminary effectiveness of a micro-coring device for removal of excess skin using 2 needle gauges (22G, 24G,) at densities (percent of skin removed per 1cm2) of 2.5-10% in subjects with mid- and lower- face skin laxity manifested by moderate-to-severe mid and lower cheek wrinkles, deepening of the nasolabial folds at rest; prominence of marionette lines at rest; downturn of the oral commissures at rest, sagging of the skin at the jawline at rest. Subjects are blinded to needle gauge and density.

There will be two cohorts of subjects: one group of subjects will receive a single treatment and the second - multiple treatments. All subjects will be followed for 180 days with several intermediate visits at 3, 7, 30, 60, and 90-days.

02

Conditions studied

  • Wrinkle
  • Facial and Neck Skin Laxity

Keywords

  • skin rejuvenation
  • wrinkle removal
  • skin laxity reduction
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc. is the lead sponsor of 10 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.

Of its 5 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 0 (0%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
40 Years to 75 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Fitzpatrick Skin Type 1, 2, or 3 as assessed by Investigator
  • One or more of the following conditions assessed by Investigator using provided Severity Scales:

    • Nasolabial fold severity at rest ≥2 and ≤4;
    • Marionette line prominence at rest ≥2 and ≤4;
    • Oral commissure drooping at rest ≥2 and ≤4;
    • Jawline sagging at rest ≥2 and ≤4 .
    • Moderate-to-Severe wrinkles at rest at least in one of the following areas - the upper lip, chin and cheeks.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lesions suspicious for any or the presence of actinic keratosis, melasma, vitiligo, cutaneous papules/nodules or active inflammatory lesions in the areas to be treated
  • History of keloid formation or hypertrophic scarring
  • History of trauma or surgery to the treatment areas in the past 6 months
  • Scar present in the areas to be treated
  • Silicone or synthetic material injections in the areas to be treated
  • Injection of FDA-approved dermal fillers in the past two years
  • Injection of fat in the past year
  • History of treatment with dermabrasion, ablative laser, or radiofrequency in the past year
  • History of treatment with non-ablative laser in the past 6 months
  • History of treatment with botulinum toxin injections in the areas to be treated within the prior 6 months
  • Active smokers (0.5 pack/day) or having quit within 3 months prior to treatment
  • Active, chronic, or recurrent infection
  • History of compromised immune system or currently being treated with agents
  • History of sensitivity to analgesic agents, Aquaphor®, topical or local anesthetics (e.g., lidocaine, benzocaine, procaine) or chlorhexidine, povidone-iodine or epinephrine
  • Excessive sun exposure and use of tanning beds or tanning creams within 30 days prior to treatment
  • Treatment with aspirin or other blood thinning agents within 14 days prior to treatment
  • History or presence of any bleeding disorder
  • Co-morbid condition that in the Investigator's opinion could limit ability to participate in the study or to comply with follow-up requirements
  • History of drug and/or alcohol abuse
  • Any issue that, at the discretion of the Investigator, would interfere with assessment of safety or efficacy or compromise the subject's ability to undergo study procedures or give
  • Treatment with an device or agent within 30 days before treatment or during the study period
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(5)

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.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

Clinically significant

Judged by the study doctor to matter for your health or for the study. It is a doctor’s decision, so ask the study team if you are unsure whether something counts.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

Investigational drug or device

A drug or device being studied in a clinical trial.

It may be new, or already approved and being studied for another use, dose or form. Criteria often leave out people who took part in another study of one within a recent period, commonly 30 days or five half-lives.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
45 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    micro-excisional skin removal

    Facial and neck wrinkles will be treated with micro-excisional skin removal

    Device: micro-excisional skin removal with coring needle

Interventions

  • Devicemicro-excisional skin removal with coring needle

    Also known as: micro-coring, micro-excisional skin removal

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. improvement in wrinkle appearance

    One grade or better improvement in score on Wrinkle Severity Scale

    Time frame: 60 and 90 days

Secondary outcomes

  1. improvement in skin laxity

    One grade or better improvement in score on Laxity Scale

    Time frame: up to 180 days

07

Study locations

6 sites
  • Laser & Skin Center of Northern CA
    Sacramento, California 95816, United States
  • Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute
    Miami, Florida 33173, United States
  • SkinCare Physicians
    Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts 02467, United States
  • Laser & Skin Surgery Center of NY
    New York, New York 10016, United States
  • Nashville Center for Laser & Facial Surgery
    Nashville, Tennessee 37203, United States
  • Dr A Jay Burns Cosmetic Surgery
    Dallas, Texas 75231, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Fernandes JR, Samayoa JC, Broelsch GF, McCormack MC, Nicholls AM, Randolph MA, Mihm MC, Austen WG Jr. Micro-mechanical fractional skin rejuvenation. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2013 Feb;131(2):216-223. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0b013e3182789afa. PubMed 23357983 ↗
  • Russe E, Purschke M, Farinelli WA, Wang Y, Doukas AG, Limpiangkanan W, Sakamoto FH, Tam J, Wechselberger G, Anderson RR. Micro-fractional, directional skin tightening: A porcine model. Lasers Surg Med. 2016 Mar;48(3):264-9. doi: 10.1002/lsm.22444. Epub 2015 Dec 2. PubMed 26627306 ↗

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Clinical data analysis will be summarized in the Clinical Study Report and later submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Ran from Jun 2016 to primary completion in Aug 2017, 14 months.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Feb 14, 2017
First posted
Jul 25, 2017
StartActual
Jun 1, 2016
Primary completionActual
Aug 31, 2017
CompletionActual
Aug 31, 2017
Last update
Mar 25, 2026
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Mar 25, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03228641
Lead sponsor
Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jul 25, 2017
Start date
Jun 1, 2016
Primary completion
Aug 31, 2017
Completion
Aug 31, 2017
Last update
Mar 25, 2026

Study contacts

Michail M Pankratov, MD, PhD
study director · Senior Vice President of Clinical & Regulatory Affairs
Patricia E Krantz
study director · Director of Clinical Operations

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2018. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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Discussion

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