ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03829956Updated Sep 27, 2021

Intraoral Tongue Stimulation for Treatment of Primary Snoring

An interventional study of Intraoral tongue stimulator (Snoozeal) in Snoring and Obstructive Sleep Apnea, sponsored by Signifier Medical Technologies. Completed at 1 site in United Kingdom. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-09-27.

Sponsored by Signifier Medical Technologies · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
115
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Intraoral Neuromuscular Training for Treatment of Snoring

Objective

Studies show that improving pharyngeal muscle tone can ameliorate obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and snoring. The study uses an intra-oral stimulation device (SnooZeal) aimed at a population of snorers. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of intra-oral neuromuscular stimulation training during wakefulness on snoring.

Methods

This is a prospective study, recruiting up to 200 patients from the sleep clinics.

In this study, subjects will use the intra-oral stimulation device once a day for 20 minutes each time for a period of 6 weeks. During these 6 weeks, subjects will complete a daily diary of the device use and any side effects or adverse events. Partners also complete a daily snoring score.

Subjects will be followed-up for a further 2 weeks after treatment. They will complete Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and subjective sleep quality questionnaires for a further 2 weeks. Partners will also complete the post treatment snoring scores. Sleep study will be repeated.

Outcome measures

The objective evaluation will be based on pre- and post-treatment sleep studies, visual analogue scale (VAS) snoring scores, PSQI and subjective sleep quality questionnaire. All side effects and adverse events will be reported and acted upon according to the risk management structure.

Read the detailed description

Aim/ Objective

The aim of this study will be to assess the efficacy of transoral neuromuscular stimulation training during wakefulness on snoring.

Patients and Methods

This is a prospective observational study, recruiting patients from the sleep clinics at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery in Queen's Hospital, Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals National Health Service (NHS) Trust

Sample size planned is up to 200 participants.

Study Protocol

A. Screening Participants will be identified from Queen's Hospital, Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust. There will be a screening phone call to ensure suitability based on an inclusion criterion and offer first line information about the trial. If suitable, participants will be given a written information sheet and invited to undertake a 2 day home sleep study (using WatchPAT). If the average apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from these 2 days is below 15/h, the participants will be invited for a clinical examination.

B. Recruitment visit

  • Clinical airway examination by Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant
  • Review of inclusion and exclusion criteria
  • Informed consent
  • Inclusion into trial

C. Pre-therapy period (day -14 to -1):

  • Bed partner daily subjective assessment of snoring (Visual Analogue Scale - participant's bed partner will be required to complete daily visual analogue scoring of the participant's snoring, with 1 being "no snoring" and 10 being "intolerable snoring")
  • Oral examination (detailed examination by dentist to document pre-therapy oral state
  • Participant and bed partner to complete sleep quality questionnaires (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epsworth sleepiness score (ESS) and subjective sleep quality questionnaire) on Day -1

D. Therapy phase (day 1-42)

  • Face-to-face meeting, instruction on use of the intraoral device
  • Participant to use the Snoozeal device for 20 minutes once daily
  • Bed partner daily subjective assessment of snoring (VAS)
  • Participant daily assessment of side effects/adverse events and time of use
  • Participant and bed partner to complete Sleep quality Questionnaires (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epsworth sleepiness score and subjective sleep quality questionnaire) at day 42
  • Weekly follow up phone call from research team to confirm compliance. Compliance will also be cross checked using the total time of use recorded by the device.

E. End of Therapy Review (day 43 - 49)

  • Review of device integrity by visual inspection
  • Oral examination (detailed examination by dentist to document post therapy oral state)
  • Repeat Sleep Study - 2 night sleep study with WatchPAT

F. Follow Up phase (day 43-56)

  • Participant advised to stop using device
  • Bed partner daily subjective assessment of snoring (VAS)
  • Subject and bed partner to complete Sleep quality Questionnaires (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Epworth sleepiness score and subjective sleep quality questionnaire) at day 56

G. Post Therapy Review (day 57)

  • Face-to-face meeting and feedback
  • Collection of participant data sheets
  • Participant subjective overall assessment

Data Analysis

The pre and post sleep studies will be performed using WatchPAT. Parameters recorded: saturation, AHI, snoring sound parameters.

AHI will be identified and analyzed by WatchPAT data and software. The WatchPat is an approved FDA sleep study device. Snoring will be quantified subjectively by both the bed partner using a visual analog score, and objectively during the home sleep study as frequency of snores (number of snores / hours of sleep) and % total sleep time spent snoring. Sleep quality will be quantified subjectively by PSQI score. Sleepiness will be quantified subjectively by ESS score.

02

Conditions studied

  • Snoring
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Keywords

  • snoring
  • obstructive sleep apnoea
  • hypopnoea
03

In context

Snoring

122 studies on the registry are indexed under Snoring; 15 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 115 is above the median of 43 across 95 interventional studies indexed under Snoring.

Browse Snoring studies →

Lead sponsor

Signifier Medical Technologies is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; none are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

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

  • Age 18 years and above at entry into study
  • Subjects must have a live-in partner
  • > 6 months history of habitual snoring (>5 days per week)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • > 35
  • Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index >15
  • Symptomatic nasal pathology
  • Tonsil Hypertrophy (Tonsil size > Grade 2)
  • Tongue or lip piercing
  • Pacemaker or implanted medical electrical devices
  • Previous oral surgery for snoring
  • Relevant facial skeletal abnormalities
  • Certain oral disease/conditions (see Appendix 3)
  • Any criteria that, in the opinion of the investigator, would make the participant unsuitable for the study due to inability to complete required study procedures
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

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.

BMI (body mass index)

Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.

What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Other
    Snoring and mild OSA

    This cohort of participants has been diagnosed with primary snoring or mild obstruction sleep apnoea. A medical device (intra-oral tongue stimulation device) will be introduced for 6 weeks and the effects will be assessed by comparing the outcome measures before and after the intervention.

    Device: Intraoral tongue stimulator (Snoozeal)

Interventions

  • DeviceIntraoral tongue stimulator (Snoozeal)

    Electrical stimulation of the tongue muscle to improve muscle tone to treat primary snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Reduction in snoring levels greater than 40dB

    Reduction of 20 % in the percentage of time spent snoring at levels greater than 40 dB. This will be achieved using WatchPat (510K - K161579) sleep studies

    Time frame: Change between pre-therapy (day -14 to -1) and end of therapy (day 43-49)

  2. Visual analogue scale (VAS) snoring scores

    Visual analogue scale (VAS) of snoring is a subjective assessment of the participant's severity of scoring by their partner on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being no snoring, 10 being intolerable snoring). This assessment will be done on a daily basis for the 2 weeks prior to intervention, 6 weeks of intervention and 2 weeks post intervention.

    Time frame: Change between average of pre-therapy (day -14 to day -1), during therapy (day 29 to 42) and post therapy (day 43 to 56)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)

    Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a self-report questionnaire that is completed by the participants at day -1 (pre-therapy), day 42 (end of therapy) and day 56 (post therapy). The questions are multiple choice questions with the answers based on participants' usual sleep habits during the last four weeks. The outcome is assessed based on the evaluation of the change in responses before and after therapy. In scoring the PSQI, seven component scores are derived, each scored 0 (no difficulty) to 3 (severe difficulty). The component scores are summed to produce a global score (range 0 to 21). Higher scores indicate worse sleep quality.

    Time frame: Change between pre-therapy (day -1) and post therapy (day 56)

  2. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS)

    The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is a self-administered questionnaire with 8 questions. Respondents are asked to rate, on a 4-point scale (0-3), their usual chances of dozing off or falling asleep while engaged in eight different activities. The score can range from 0 to 24, with a higher score indicating a higher level of daytime sleepiness.

    Time frame: Change between pre-therapy (day -1) and post therapy (day 56)

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Redbridge, Barking and Havering NHS Trust
    London, United Kingdom
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Nokes B, Baptista PM, de Apodaca PMR, Carrasco-Llatas M, Fernandez S, Kotecha B, Wong PY, Zhang H, Hassaan A, Malhotra A. Transoral awake state neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy for mild obstructive sleep apnea. Sleep Breath. 2023 May;27(2):527-534. doi: 10.1007/s11325-022-02644-9. Epub 2022 May 27. PubMed 35624401 ↗
  • Kotecha B, Wong PY, Zhang H, Hassaan A. A novel intraoral neuromuscular stimulation device for treating sleep-disordered breathing. Sleep Breath. 2021 Dec;25(4):2083-2090. doi: 10.1007/s11325-021-02355-7. Epub 2021 Mar 26. PubMed 33772397 ↗

Study documents

PDFs hosted by the registry, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Feb 2019 to primary completion in Apr 2020, 14 months.

Of 45 interventional studies with no phase under Snoring, half reached primary completion within 20 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 10 and three quarters within 31. This study's 14 months is below that.

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

Registered
Jan 13, 2017
First posted
Feb 4, 2019
StartActual
Feb 4, 2019
Primary completionActual
Apr 14, 2020
CompletionActual
Apr 14, 2020
Last update
Sep 27, 2021
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 Sep 27, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03829956
Lead sponsor
Signifier Medical Technologies
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Feb 4, 2019
Start date
Feb 4, 2019
Primary completion
Apr 14, 2020
Completion
Apr 14, 2020
Last update
Sep 27, 2021

Study contacts

Bhik Kotecha
principal investigator · University College London Hospitals

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Sep 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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