ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06474026Updated Aug 24, 2026

Bilateral Nucleus Accumbens Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Stimulant Use Disorder

An interventional study of ExAblate 4000 Type 2.1 in Psychostimulant Use Disorder(PUD), sponsored by Korea University Anam Hospital. Recruiting at 1 site in South Korea. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 60 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-24.

Sponsored by Korea University Anam Hospital · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Jul 2024; still recruiting 2 years 4 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
19 Years to 60 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The purpose of this clinical trial is to evaluate the initial safety and efficacy of the ExAblate Model 4000 Type 2.1 surgical device for nucleus accumbens (NAc) neuromodulation in patients with psychostimulant use disorder (PUD).

Read the detailed description

This prospective, single-center, single-arm, open-label feasibility trial is designed to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of nucleus accumbens (NAc)-targeted neuromodulation using the ExAblate 4000 Type 2.1 system in patients with psychostimulant use disorder (PUD).

Potential participants with PUD who are receiving standard treatment for substance use disorder will be informed about the study and invited to participate. Individuals who voluntarily provide written informed consent will undergo screening assessments to determine eligibility according to the predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Eligible participants will then be enrolled in the study.

At Visit 2, participants will undergo focused ultrasound neuromodulation targeting the bilateral NAc using the ExAblate 4000 Type 2.1 system. The procedure will be performed under magnetic resonance imaging guidance. Following completion of the procedure, participants will be clinically observed for at least 2 hours and assessed for any procedure- or device-related adverse events. Participants who discontinue the study because of an adverse event will continue to be followed as clinically appropriate until the event has resolved or stabilized, or until the investigator determines that further follow-up is no longer necessary.

Participants will return for follow-up assessments at Visit 3 (Day 7 ± 2), Visit 4 (Day 30 ± 7), Visit 5 (Day 90 ± 7), and Visit 6 (Day 180 ± 7) after the focused ultrasound procedure. Safety assessments will include monitoring for adverse events and clinically relevant neurological or medical changes. Efficacy assessments will include urine toxicology testing for psychostimulant and illicit drug use, assessment of time to relapse, evaluation of substance craving, psychiatric and behavioral assessments related to mood, anxiety, attention, and impulsivity, and assessment of cognitive function. Functional magnetic resonance imaging, including a drug-cue reactivity paradigm, will also be performed at predefined study time points to evaluate longitudinal changes in neural responses associated with drug craving.

All participants will complete the final study evaluation at Visit 6 (Day 180 ± 7). Participants with unresolved adverse events may continue to be followed beyond the final scheduled visit when considered clinically necessary by the investigator.

02

Conditions studied

  • Psychostimulant Use Disorder(PUD)

Keywords

  • ExAblate 4000 Type 2.1
  • Psychostimulant use disorder
  • neuromodulation
03

In context

Lead sponsor

Korea University Anam Hospital is the lead sponsor of 112 studies on the registry; 31 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
19 Years to 60 Years
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

  1. Adults between the ages of 19 and 60
  2. Subject is diagnosed with a psychostimulant* use disorder (PUD) by a board certified psychiatrist.

    *Psychostimulants: Methamphetamine, cocaine, and other stimulants

  3. Subject is currently receiving standard substance use disorder inpatient treatment or an intensive outpatient program
  4. Subject has been off psychostimulants and other illicit drugs, confirmed via urine toxicology screen
  5. Subject has not regularly used illegal drugs other than psychostimulants more than once a month in the past six months
  6. The NAc is apparent on MRI such that treatment targeting can be performed directly (visible on MRI) and indirectly (using other anatomical structures for measurements)
  7. Subject is able to communicate sensations during the procedure
  8. Subject has made a voluntary decision to participate in this clinical trial and has given written consent.
  9. Subject is willing to comply to the protocol

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Subject with standard for MR imaging, such as non-MRI compatible implanted metallic devices.
  2. Subject with known allergies to the MRI contrast agent gadolinium (Gadovist®) or contraindication (such as untreated hypokalemia).
  3. Subject who are unable or unwilling to tolerate the required prolonged stationary position during treatment (approximately 2-3 hours)
  4. More than 30% of the skull area traversed by the sonication pathyway is covered by scars, scalp disorder (e.g., eczema), or atrophy of the scalp.
  5. Subject with implanted objects in the skull or brain
  6. Subject diagnosed with advanced kidney disease or on dialysis
  7. Subjet with impaired renal function with estimated less than 30 mL/min/1.73 m 2
  8. Subject with known unstable cardiac status or severe hypertension including:

    • Documented myocardial infarction within six months of enrollment
    • Unstable angina on medication
    • Unstable or worsening congestive heart failure
    • (LVEF) below the lower limit of normal
    • History of hemodynamically unstable cardiac arrhythmias
    • Cardiac pacemaker
    • Severe hypertension (diastolic blood pressure over 100 on medication)
  9. Subject has a history of abnormal bleeding or coagulopathy
  10. Subject is receiving anticoagulant (e.g., warfarin) or antiplatelet (e.g., aspirin) therapy within one week of focused ultrasound procedure or drugs known to increase risk of hemorrhage (e.g., Avastin) within one month of focused ultrasound procedure
  11. Subject has blood coagulation test results outside the normal range

    • \<100,000/μL
    • PT>13.9 seconds or >37.5 seconds
    • INR>1.2
  12. Subject with cerebrovascular disease as determined by MRI according to Fazekas score
  13. Subject with a past or current diagnosis of schizophrenia, psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder, or untreated depression other than one determined to be substance induced
  14. Score of greater than 17 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D) or increased risk of suicide based on any positive response regarding passive or active suicidal ideation with or without intent over the past 3 months or lifetime history of active suicidal ideation with intent on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) at baseline
  15. Diagnosis of dementia or any other disorder which has led to a cognitive impairment (assessed via NIHTB-CB)
  16. Subject with brain tumors
  17. Subject with chronic pulmonary disorders e.g. severe emphysema, pulmonary vasculitis, or other casues of reduced pulmonary vascular cross-sectional area.
  18. Any known CNS infection or infection with the (HIV)
  19. Subject who has had deep brain stimulation or a prior stereostatic ablation of the NAc, basal ganglia, or thalamus
  20. Subject who has been administered botulinum toxins into to the arm, neck, or face for 5 months prior to baseline
  21. Subject unwilling to refrain from using illicit drugs while participating in this clinical trial
  22. Subject is pregnant or nursing women
  23. For women of *, who do not agree to use clinically appropriate ** for the duration of the clinical trial

    *Definition of women of childbearing age: means women who have experienced menarche, have not been surgically sterilized (hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy), or are not , defined as amenorrhea for 12 months or more for no other reason.

    **Clinically appropriate contraception: defined as "[intrauterine device (e.g., Loop, Mirena), chemical barrier method (spermicide), or subdermal implantable contraceptive device (e.g., Implanon)] + physical barrier method (male or female)" for women, tubal surgery, or laparoscopic contraception (a type of tubal ligation).

  24. Other, if the investigator determines that participation in the clinical trial is inappropriate ethically or because it may affect the outcome of the clinical trial
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(12)

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.

DSM diagnostic criteria

The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.

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.

Contraindication

A reason a treatment, test or procedure should not be given to a particular person, such as an allergy, another illness or a medicine they take.

GFR and eGFR (kidney filtering)

GFR (glomerular filtration rate) is how much blood the kidneys filter each minute. It is usually estimated from a blood test — eGFR, by formulas such as CKD-EPI or MDRD — and some studies ask for it to be measured directly instead. Usually given in mL/min/1.73 m².

Check the method, the units and the minimum the study states. A value of 90 or above is in the normal-or-high range, but kidney damage can show in other tests too.

LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)

The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

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.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

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.

Postmenopausal

Periods have stopped for good: usually no period for 12 months in a row without another medical reason, sometimes confirmed by a blood test (FSH).

05

Study design

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

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Treatment arm:

    Visit 2(Procedure)

    Device: ExAblate 4000 Type 2.1

Interventions

  • DeviceExAblate 4000 Type 2.1

    In treatment arm, the subject will receive device application(bilateral NAc FUS; Visit 2) Subjects will return to the site at Visit 3 (7±2 days post device application), Visit 4 (30±7 days post device application), Visit 5 (90±7 days post device application), and Visit 6 (180±7 days post device application) for safety and efficacy assessments.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Success rate of psychostimulant abstinence (%)

    Percentage of subjects with no detectable psychostimulants and other illicit drugs by urine toxicology screening after application

    Time frame: 7, 30, 90, and 180 days after device application

Secondary outcomes

  1. Time to relapse (in days)

    Time in days from active sonication to the first positive urine toxicology result indicating psychostimulant relapse. Participants without a positive urine toxicology result are followed through Day 180.

    Time frame: 6 months

  2. Visual Analog Scale rating of craving severity

    Change in substance craving visual analog scale (VAS, 0-10) score after device application. Craving is rated on a 0-10 visual analog scale, where 0 indicates no craving and 10 indicates the strongest craving ever.

    Time frame: Baseline to 7, 30, 90, and 180 days after device application

  3. Assessments related to mood/anxiety/attention/impulsivity

    Change (in points) in assessments of mood/anxiety/attention/impulsivity

    Time frame: Baseline to 7, 30, 90, and 180 days after device application

  4. Assessment of cognitive function

    Change in Cognitive Function Assessment (points) Post-device application

    Time frame: Baseline to 180 days after device application

  5. Evaluation of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and fMRI drug cue reactivity (FDCR)

    Change in resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and fMRI drug cue reactivity (FDCR) after device application. RSFC assesses longitudinal changes in functional connectivity across brain networks at rest, while FDCR assesses longitudinal changes in BOLD responses to drug-related versus neutral cues.

    Time frame: Baseline to 7 days and 90 days after device application

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 24, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06474026
Responsible party
Chang, Jin Woo (Professor, Korea University Anam Hospital) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jun 25, 2024
Start date
Jul 1, 2024
Primary completion
Jul 31, 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jul 31, 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 24, 2026

Oversight

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

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