An interventional study of Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy in Typhoid Fever, sponsored by University Hospital, Aachen. Completed at 1 site in Germany. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-03-05.
Sponsored by University Hospital, Aachen · Not applicable, Interventional, and Diagnostic
The goal of this project is to adapt the gold nanoparticle-based surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) technology to clinical application. In this exploratory study a measurement protocol will be established to subsequently investigate whether SERS allows to diagnose patients infected with typhoid fever as well as to stage the disease.
This study on the clinical application of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) is composed of two parts. First, a SERS measurement protocol will be developed to enhance the interactions between gold nanoparticles and the components of the patients samples, maximizing Raman spectroscopical signatures. Given the complex composition of human blood, which encompasses numerous biological constituents, the study focuses on serum, a component obtained through centrifugation after the removal of cells and clotting factors. Fifteen spectra will be recorded per sample. The raw spectra will be post-processed, including removal of the substrate signal, baseline correction, vector normalization, and smoothing steps.
The SERS measurement protocol established in the first section will subsequently be applied to samples of healthy and typhoid fever patients. The samples from infected patients will be confirmed with the Widal test. Multivariate data analysis will be performed to identify distinctive feature characteristics in the samples that correlate to their group (healthy and infected patients), allowing patient diagnosis, as well as the severity of the infection.
76 studies on the registry are indexed under Typhoid Fever; 11 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 30 is below the median of 147 across 65 interventional studies indexed under Typhoid Fever.
Browse Typhoid Fever studies →University Hospital, Aachen is the lead sponsor of 9 studies on the registry; 2 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
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.
Exclusion Criteria:
The serum samples of healthy patients will be measured.
Diagnostic Test: Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
The serum samples of early-stage typhoid fever patients will be measured.
Diagnostic Test: Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
The serum samples of consolidated-stage typhoid fever patients will be measured.
Diagnostic Test: Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy
The Raman spectra of patient samples will be measured in the presence of gold nanoparticles, which will enhance the spectroscopic characteristics of serum components via near-field enhancements.
SERS measurements to differentiate between healthy and typhoid fever patients
SERS assessment of healthy and typhoid fever patient samples to identify unique spectroscopical characteristics to discriminate between healthy and typhoid fever patients
Time frame: Through study competition, up to 1 year
SERS measurements to stage typhoid fever patients
SERS assessment of early-stage and consolidated-stage typhoid fever patient samples to identify unique spectroscopical characteristics to stage the infection.
Time frame: Through study competition, up to 1 year
Plan to share: No — The study results will be published in at least one scientific article.
Ran from Jul 2023 to primary completion in Aug 2024, 13 months.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Mar 2025. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
University Hospital, Aachen