An interventional study of Continuous stimulation strategy and Closed-loop stimulation strategy in Essential Tremor and Healthy Individuals, sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Suspended at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 80 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-07-14.
Sponsored by Shirley Ryan AbilityLab · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science
The purpose of this study is to understand the acute, short-term and long-term impact of transcutaneous and/or percutaneous electrical stimulation with afferent-specific electrical stimulation (asES) on proprioception and fine motor control in the upper extremity. For this purpose, the researchers will use transcutaneous and/or percutaneous asES, high-density electromyography (HD-EMG), arm kinematic measurements, and standardized clinical assessments. This study will be conducted in healthy able-bodied individuals and patients with essential tremor (ET).
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of afferent-specific electrical stimulation (asES), delivered either transcutaneous or percutaneous electrodes, on proprioception and fine motor control. The researchers will study the effect of asES in force perception, joint position perception, and touch sensitivity as proxies for proprioception. The researchers will also study the effect of asES on fine motor control by investigating the change in neural drive to the muscles before and after asES using the motor unit spike trains extracted from HD-EMG recordings. Furthermore, the researchers will also study the difference in effects of transcutaneous versus percutaneous asES on proprioception, fine motor control, and tremor in ET through HD-EMG and standard clinical measurements such as TETRAS and Perdue pegboard test. These results will help the researchers understand the acute, short-term, and long-term effects of various methods of asES delivery (transcutaneous or percutaneous) and their impact on proprioception and fine motor control.
Aim 1: Investigate the acute, short-term, and long-term effects of transcutaneous asES on proprioception and fine motor control. The overall goal of this study is to provide insight into the effect of transcutaneous stimulation of la afferent pathways targeted to modulate spinal reflexes in patients with ET to reduce tremors, which consequently might cause disruption in proprioception leading to changes in performance of fine motor control. The researchers hypothesize that asES might disrupt proprioception causing decreased performance in fine motor control tasks in the acute (during stimulation), and short-term (e.g., immediately following stimulation to 30 minutes post) but the effects will diminish in the long-term (up to 24 hours post stimulation) time periods.
Aim 2: Investigate the acute, short-term, and long-term effects of percutaneous asES on proprioception and fine motor control. The goal of this aim is to evaluate the effects of percutaneous asES to modulate Ia afferents and spinal reflexes to result in tremor reduction in ET, which consequently might cause disruption in proprioception leading to changes in performance of fine motor control. The researchers hypothesize that percutaneous asES will disrupt proprioception and fine motor control, but will also result in tremor reduction in the acute, short-term and long-term periods.
261 studies on the registry are indexed under Essential Tremor; 74 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 40 is above the median of 24 across 185 interventional studies indexed under Essential Tremor.
Browse Essential Tremor studies →Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the lead sponsor of 177 studies on the registry; 43 are open to participants now.
Of its 10 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (40%) have results posted.
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Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Participants:
Exclusion Criteria for Healthy Participants:
Inclusion Criteria for ET Patients:
Exclusion Criteria for ET Patients:
Participants will be administered transcutaneous afferent-specific electrical stimulation in the upper limb using conductive pads targeting the median and radial nerves at the wrist
Device: Continuous stimulation strategy · Device: Closed-loop stimulation strategy
Participants will be administered percutaneous afferent-specific electrical stimulation in the upper limb using intramuscular leads targeting the flexor and extensor muscles of the wrist
Device: Continuous stimulation strategy · Device: Closed-loop stimulation strategy
Participants will be administered stimulation with a constant frequency stimulation.
Participants will be administered with an activity-dependent stimulation.
Force perception via force matching tasks
Force perception will be measured by evaluating the participant's ability to match a target force.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes following the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Position perception via position matching tasks
Position perception will be measured by evaluating the participant's ability to match a target joint position.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes following the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Touch perception using Semmes Weinstein monofilament testing
Touch perception will be assessed through Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing. Roshen scores will be computed based on the filaments that are perceived by the participant. The range of Roschen scores can be from 0 -5. Higher scores mean better touch perception.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes following the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Fine motor control as assessed by visuomotor tracking performance
Fine motor control at the wrist and hands will be measured by evaluating the performance of the participants in tracking various forms of trajectory by moving their wrist and hand in flexion-extension movements.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Tremor assessment using TETRAS
The Essential Tremor Rating Assessment Scale (TETRAS) will be used to quantify tremor of the participants. The TETRAS scale ranges from 0 - 64. Higher scores mean worse tremor in the participant.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Tremor assessment using arm kinematics
Upper limb kinematics using inertial measurement units (IMUs) will be used to quantify tremor of the participants. IMUs will be placed on the hand, forearm, and upper arm of the participants.
Time frame: Assessment will be performed before, immediately after, and 30 minutes after the administration of the intervention in a single visit
Plan to share: No
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