ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06920030Updated Aug 11, 2026

Performance of the Cardiac Microcurrent (C-MIC) System With a Less Invasively Placed Left Ventricular Lead

An interventional study of Subcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment and Subcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment in Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy, Left Ventricular (LV) Systolic Dysfunction and Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathy, sponsored by Berlin Heals GmbH. Recruiting at 4 sites in 2 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 75 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-11.

Sponsored by Berlin Heals GmbH · Not applicable, Interventional, and Other

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Apr 2025; still recruiting 1 year 7 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
22
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 75 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in heart failure (NYHA class III - IV) with a baseline left ventricular ejection fraction between ≥25% and ≤35%, and patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy in heart failure (NYHA class III-IV) with a baseline left ventricular ejection fraction >40% and \<50% despite guideline-directed medical therapy, will receive C-MIC treatment in addition to optimal medical management.

The device can be implanted without the need for open-heart surgery. Patients are assigned to one of two groups according to the indications under investigation. At the end of the study after 6 months, the C-MIC System will be turned off. The primary endpoint of the study is the absolute change in left ventricular ejection fraction after 6 months of treatment.

Read the detailed description

Target patients for the C-MIC System include: (1) patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy who have systolic left ventricular dysfunction (NYHA class III-IV) despite adequate heart failure therapy and a left ventricular ejection fraction between 25% and 35%, and (2) patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy who have systolic left ventricular dysfunction (NYHA class III-IV) despite adequate heart failure therapy and a left ventricular ejection fraction >40% and \<50%. All patients must have a documented history of heart failure for more than 1 year but less than 5 years.

In previous studies, C-MIC was successfully implanted with one of the electrodes (the LV patch electrode) being placed directly on the heart. This study uses a less invasive technique to place the LV patch electrode, eliminating the need for a thoracotomy.

In all the groups, the effect of the microcurrent therapy will be assessed by comparing LV ejection fraction changes between baseline and after 6 months of microcurrent treatment (primary endpoint).

02

Conditions studied

  • Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy
  • Left Ventricular (LV) Systolic Dysfunction
  • Non-ischemic Cardiomyopathy

Keywords

  • dilated cardiomyopathy
  • heart failure
  • non-ischemic cardiomyopathy
03

In context

Cardiomyopathies

553 studies on the registry are indexed under Cardiomyopathies; 152 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 22 is below the median of 51 across 266 interventional studies indexed under Cardiomyopathies.

Browse Cardiomyopathies studies →

Lead sponsor

Berlin Heals GmbH is the lead sponsor of 4 studies on the registry; 3 are open to participants now.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 75 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 Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy with HFrEF:

  1. Patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy who have systolic left ventricular dysfunction despite adequate therapy of heart failure ( III - IV).
  2. Patients who have a baseline of ≥25% and ≤35% assessed by corelab.

Inclusion Criteria Non-Ischaemic Cardiomyopathy with HFmrEF:

  1. Patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy with mildly reduced left ventricular ejection fraction despite adequate therapy of heart failure (NYHA III - IV).
  2. Patients who have a baseline left ventricular ejection fraction of >40% and \<50% assessed by corelab.

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria for all Patients:

  1. Patients with symptomatic chronic heart failure for more than 1 year and less than 5 years at screening based on the date of diagnosis.
  2. Female and male patients aged ≥18 years - 75 years.
  3. Patient who understands the nature of the procedure and on-going device therapy. Patient is informed about their participation in a chronic clinical trial and about the intended treatment period of 6 months which is derived by the fact that according to current knowledge microcurrent treatment exceeding 6 months will not have additional favorable effects which means it will not further improve cardiac function. Furthermore, the patient is informed about the possibility of device explantation, informed regarding possible risks and is able to give written prior to any procedures and is considered willing and able to adhere to the study regimen and to return for all follow-up visits.
  4. Patients receiving appropriate, stable guideline directed medical therapy for heart failure at least for the 3 months prior to screening. Stable is defined as no more than a 50% increase or 50% decrease in dose. If the patient is intolerant of guideline recommended doses of heart failure medication, documented evidence must be available.

    Guideline directed medical therapy includes for:

    • Patients with HFrEF:

    - Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACE-I) or

    - Angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor (ARNI)

    - Beta-blocker

    - Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist (MRA)

    - Dapagliflozin/Empagliflozin inhibitor (SGLT2i)

    • Patients with HFmrEF - Diuretics (if symptomatic)

      • Dapagliflozin/Empagliflozin inhibitor (SGLT2i)
  5. Patients who can perform a non-assisted 6-minute walk test.
  6. Patients must have a within the range of 20 - 36 kg/m².
  7. Informed consent in writing obtained from patient.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients who are not likely to experience improvement of their chronic heart failure by the microcurrent therapy, because the causes of the disease cannot be influenced even if the patients fulfill the indication for use of the device or if the therapy with the C-MIC System is not possible or might be associated with unknown risks:

  1. Patients who have a potentially correctible cause of heart failure, such as valvular heart disease or congenital heart disease.
  2. Patients with an indication for a CRT system according to current guidelines.
  3. Patients who have been hospitalized for heart failure which required the use of inotropic support within 30 days before screening.
  4. Patients with systolic blood pressure above 150 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure above 90 mmHg despite optimal antihypertensive medical treatment.
  5. Patients with blood level \< 12 g/dl in male and \< 10 g/dl in female patients.
  6. Patients with primary pulmonary hypertension
  7. Patients who have genetic connective tissue disease (for example Marfan syndrome).
  8. Patients with a prosthetic tricuspid valve.
  9. Patients in whom access for implantation of the leads cannot be obtained (i.e. known venous occlusion, post radiation therapy).
  10. Patient with other features (i.e. thorax deformity) that in the eyes of the investigator make the straightforward placement of the device seem unlikely.
  11. Patients with a pacemaker, an ICD system, a CRT system or with a CCM system.
  12. Current pregnancy or
  13. Breastfeeding/lactating women
  14. Women of , defined as all women physiologically capable of becoming pregnant, unless they are using highly effective methods of (e.g. intrauterine device, oral contraceptives, barrier methods, or other contraception deemed adequate by the investigator) 2 months before and until 1 month after C-MIC therapy.

    Women are considered and not of childbearing potential if they have had 12 months of natural (spontaneous) amenorrhea with an appropriate clinical profile (e.g. age appropriate, history of vasomotor symptoms) or have had surgical bilateral oophorectomy (with or without hysterectomy) or tubal ligation at least 2 months before screening.

  15. Patients whose exercise tolerance is limited by a condition other than heart failure (e.g. , peripheral vascular 16.

Patients on therapy. 17.Patie nts with present . 18. Patients with an active infection considered by the investigator to be unsafe for the patient's participation in the study.

19. Patients with renal dysfunction (i.e., estimated \<45 mL/min /1,73 m²). Use the "CKD-EPI Creatinine Equation (2021)" as found on https://www.kidney.org/professionals/gfr_calculator.

20. Patients with history or presence of relevant liver diseases or hepatic dysfunction as indicated by abnormal liver function tests at screening and baseline: (SGPT), AST (SGOT), γ-GT, alkaline, phosphatase and serum > 2 × (ULN). Increase of these liver enzymes caused by cardiac disorders in the absence of other possible causes of liver damage are not meant by this.

21. Patients with a history of drug or alcohol abuse within the 12 months prior to screening.

22. Patients who, in the opinion of the Principal Investigator, are unlikely to comply with the protocol requirements, instructions and trial related restrictions, e.g., uncooperative attitude, inability to return for follow-up visits, psychological illness, and improbability of completing the trial.

23. Participation in any study of an device or drug within 90 days prior to planned study.

24. Vulnerable Patients (e.g. patients requiring a legal representative, patients kept in detention, any service within the army, and employees of the sponsor or at an investigator site).

25. Patients who are not able to avoid the following areas (i.e. due to work):

  • Areas with strong magnetic fields
  • Areas with strong external electrical influences
  • Areas with a warning notice "Access prohibited for pacemaker patients" or similar.
  • Areas with high temperatures
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(16)

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.

NYHA class (heart failure)

The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.

I
No limits: ordinary activity causes no undue tiredness or breathlessness.
II
Slight limits: comfortable at rest, ordinary activity causes symptoms.
III
Marked limits: comfortable at rest, less than ordinary activity causes symptoms.
IV
Symptoms even at rest; any activity makes them worse.

Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.

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.

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.

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.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

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).

COPD

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: long-term lung disease that makes it hard to breathe out, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

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.

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.

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.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

Bilirubin

A yellow substance made when red blood cells are broken down, which the liver clears. A high level can mean a problem with the liver or the bile ducts.

Criteria often allow more for people with Gilbert’s syndrome, a harmless inherited condition that raises bilirubin.

ULN (upper limit of normal)

The top of the normal range for a blood test, as set by the laboratory that runs it. Each lab prints its own range next to your result.

“≤ 2.5 × ULN” means the result can be up to two and a half times that top value.

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
Other
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
22 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group 1: Sub-Q implantation

    The LV patch lead will be implanted in a less invasive way in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

    Device: Subcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment

  • Experimental
    Group 2: Sub-Q implantation

    The LV patch lead will be implanted in a less invasive way in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and in patients with non-ischemic cardiomyopathy.

    Device: Subcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment

Interventions

  • DeviceSubcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment

    An implantable device that emits a weak direct (DC)-microcurrent directly to the heart.

  • DeviceSubcutaneous cardiac microcurrent treatment

    An implantable device that emits a weak direct (DC)-microcurrent directly to the heart.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) change from baseline

    Absolute change of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) from baseline to 6 months as measured by echocardiography with Corelab. The changes from baseline will be analyzed by using the Mixed Model for Repeated Measures (MMRM), with the baseline value as covariate.

    Time frame: 6 months

07

Study locations

4 of 4 sites recruiting
  • University Clinical Center of the Republic of Srbska
    Banja Luka, Republic of Srbska 78000, Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Recruiting
  • Institute of Cardiovascular Disease Dedinje
    Belgrade, 11040, Serbia
    Recruiting
    • Dragana Kosevic, MD · Contact
    • Dragana Kosevic, MD · Principal investigator
  • Clinical Hospital Center Bezanijska kosa
    Belgrade, 11080, Serbia
    Recruiting
  • UKC Kragujevac
    Kragujevac, 34000, Serbia
    Recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

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

Started Apr 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Apr 2027, 24 months after the start.

Of 51 interventional studies with no phase under Cardiomyopathies, half reached primary completion within 39 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 23 and three quarters within 52. This study's planned 24 months is below that.

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

Registered
Apr 1, 2025
First posted
Apr 9, 2025
StartActual
Apr 9, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Apr 2027
CompletionEst.
Apr 2027
Last update
Aug 11, 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 Aug 11, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06920030
Lead sponsor
Berlin Heals GmbH
Collaborators
SCIRENT Clinical Research and Science d.o.o.
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 9, 2025
Start date
Apr 9, 2025
Primary completion
Apr 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Apr 2027 (estimated)
Last update
Aug 11, 2026

Study contacts

Gill Glennon
Contact
glennon@berlinheals.de
+44 7786 377667
John Brumfield
Contact
brumfield@berlinheals.de
+49 308891364053

Oversight

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

Interested in this study?

Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.

Contact study team

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions 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.

Start the discussion