NCT04396288

Brief Summary

Blood circulation within bone is thought to have a key role in bone growth, in fracture healing and in the development of bone diseases like osteoporosis. Current medical imaging techniques such as conventional ultrasonography fail to detect blood circulation within bone. The investigators propose to develop a new type of ultrasonography called intraosseous functional ultrasonography that will enable the detection and the characterization of blood circulation in solid bone tissue, marrow and soft tissues surrounding bone (muscle for instance). Because most soft tissues are essentially made of water, the speed of sound in soft tissues is close to that in water and it varies only a little between different types of soft tissues. For this reason, clinical ultrasound scanners used for ultrasonography assume that the speed of sound in the human body is the same for all types of soft tissues. This assumption is reasonable in soft tissues, but it does not hold in bone because solid bone tissue is much stiffer than soft tissues. Seismologists have extensive experience in producing images of the structure of the Earth based on the analysis of elastic waves which follow the same laws of Physics as ultrasound waves. The subsurface of the Earth contains layers of solid materials and liquids, consequently it is very similar to a region of the human body containing bone and soft tissues. Therefore the investigators will first work on the adaption of time-tested seismic imaging methods to make ultrasonography of bone possible. Once a correct image of bone is obtained, the investigators will use an ultrasound scanner dedicated to research to repeat this image hundreds of times per second, very much like a slow motion video. Because blood is moving while bone is still, the intensity in the image is being slightly changed where blood is moving. Thus the analysis of these changes makes it possible to detect and characterize blood flow within bone. In this way the investigators expect to be able to detect blood flowing with a speed as low as a few millimeters per second. Finally the sensitivity of the technique to detect and characterize blood circulation in bone will be evaluated in patients at the hospital and in healthy volunteers. The success of this work will help gaining knowledge on the role of blood circulation within bone. In the long term, it may help in the diagnosis of bone diseases.

Trial Health

87
On Track

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Enrollment
19

participants targeted

Target at below P25 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Sep 2021

Typical duration for not_applicable

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
completed

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

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Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

May 5, 2020

Completed
15 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

May 20, 2020

Completed
1.3 years until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

September 14, 2021

Completed
1.2 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

December 14, 2022

Completed
1.1 years until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

January 30, 2024

Completed
Last Updated

September 4, 2025

Status Verified

March 1, 2024

Enrollment Period

1.2 years

First QC Date

May 5, 2020

Last Update Submit

August 28, 2025

Conditions

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

  • Change of velocity of blood flow in cortical bone and in marrow, before, during, and after the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff at the forearm (radius bone)

    Using ultrasound imaging, the velocity (mm/s) of blood circulation in cortical bone and in marrow will be assessed at the forearm (radius bone). Changes induced by the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff will be measured.

    Up to 10 secondes immediately before the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff, during the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff (about 20 secondes), and up to 10 secondes immediately after the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff

  • Change of direction of blood flow in cortical bone and in marrow, before, during, and after the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff at the forearm (radius bone)

    Using ultrasound imaging, the direction (degree) of blood circulation in cortical bone and in marrow will be assessed at the forearm (radius bone). Changes induced by the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff will be measured.

    Up to 10 secondes immediately before the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff, during the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff (about 20 secondes), and up to 10 secondes immediately after the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff

  • Change of velocity of blood flow in cortical bone and in marrow at the tibia, if changing position from sitting position to supine head-down tilt position

    Using ultrasound imaging, the velocity (mm/s) of blood circulation in cortical bone and in marrow will be assessed at the tibia. Changes induced by the change of position will be measured.

    During sitting position (up to 5 minutes), then during supine head-down tilt position (up to 5 minutes)

  • Change of direction of blood flow in cortical bone and in marrow at the tibia, if changing position from sitting position to supine head-down tilt position

    Using ultrasound imaging, the direction (degree) of blood circulation in cortical bone and in marrow will be assessed at the tibia. Changes induced by the change of position will be measured.

    During sitting position (up to 5 minutes), then during supine head-down tilt position (up to 5 minutes)

Secondary Outcomes (2)

  • Repeatability of the measurement of the change of intraosseous blood circulation at the forearm under the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff

    Up to 10 secondes immediately before the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff, during the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff (about 20 secondes), and up to 10 secondes immediately after the action of an automatic blood pressure cuff

  • Repeatability of the measurement of the change of intraosseous blood circulation at the tibia when changing position from sitting position to supine head-down tilt position

    During sitting position (up to 5 minutes), then during supine head-down tilt position (up to 5 minutes)

Study Arms (1)

Healthy volunteers

EXPERIMENTAL
Device: ultrasound imaging at the forearm and at the tibia

Interventions

ultrasound imaging will be performed at the radius bone (forearm) and at the tibia, before, during, and after a change of intraosseous blood flow

Healthy volunteers

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years+
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersYes
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • be 18 years old or older
  • speaks good French
  • have an affiliation to a French Healthcare system (health insurance)
  • sign the informed consent

You may not qualify if:

  • bone fracture at the tibia or at the forearm less than one year ago
  • injury or wound still present at the tibia or at the forearm
  • pregnant women
  • protected persons

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Service de Radiologie polyvalente et oncologique, hôpital La Pitié-Salpêtrière

Paris, France

Location

Related Publications (1)

  • Cloutier G, Destrempes F, Yu F, Tang A. Quantitative ultrasound imaging of soft biological tissues: a primer for radiologists and medical physicists. Insights Imaging. 2021 Sep 9;12(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s13244-021-01071-w.

    PMID: 34499249BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Bone Diseases, Metabolic

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Bone DiseasesMusculoskeletal DiseasesMetabolic DiseasesNutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
NA
Masking
NONE
Purpose
BASIC SCIENCE
Intervention Model
SINGLE GROUP
Sponsor Type
OTHER GOV
Responsible Party
SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

May 5, 2020

First Posted

May 20, 2020

Study Start

September 14, 2021

Primary Completion

December 14, 2022

Study Completion

January 30, 2024

Last Updated

September 4, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-03

Locations