Towards Restoring Complex Movement After Paralysis: Algorithm Development With Healthy Participants

NCT07236892 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 25-10721DP1HD121548-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 50
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Participants will perform experiments with non-invasive activity recordings. The study will record from multiple non-invasive signal sources that reflect motor intent that may include: electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), inertial measurement units (IMUs), eye movements, pupil size, and speech. Participants will wear all or a subset of these sensors and be asked to perform, imagine, or attempt movements or speech. The recorded sensor signals will be decoded to help guide an end effector, which may be a computer, robotic arm, wheelchair, or other assistive device. These experiments present minimal risk and participants may withdraw participation at any time for any reason. Participants may return for additional experiments if desired and to perform additional comparisons. If a participant withdraws during a comparison, another participant will be recruited to complete collection of data for that comparison.

Conditions

Movement Disorders; Neurorehabilitation; Non-invasive Activity Recording

Keywords

Machine Learning; Algorithm Development

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Normalized Performance

  The normalized performance of the non-invasive assistive interface on a task. Non-invasive signals, which may include electroencephalography, electromyography, functional near infrared spectroscopy, inertial measurements units, eye movements, pupil size, and speech are input into an algorithm that controls an end effector's movements. The end effector, which may be a computer cursor, robotic manipulator, wheelchair, or other assistive device, is used to perform a motor task. The normalized performance is derived from the the performance of the end effector on the motor task, reflecting the overall performance of the non-invasive assistive interface. The minimum value is zero. There is no maximum value, although the values are usually less than 1. Higher is better.

  Usually one visit (Day 1), with possible additional study visits usually within a month.

Study Arms (1)

Healthy Participants

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will perform a subset of tasks while non-invasive activity is recorded which may include EEG, EMG, IMUs, fNIRS, eye gaze, or pupillometry.

Behavioral: Participants will perform experimental tasks while undergoing non-invasive activity recordings, which may include EEG, EMG, IMUs, fNIRS, eye gaze, or pupillometry.

Interventions

Participants will perform experimental tasks while undergoing non-invasive activity recordings, which may include EEG, EMG, IMUs, fNIRS, eye gaze, or pupillometry. BEHAVIORAL

Participants may be prompted to imagine, attempt, or perform actions while a task is being performed on a computer, robotic arm, wheelchair, or exoskeleton. Participants may also autonomously perform actions to control each end effector. Participants may be asked to control a cursor to acquire a target or multiple targets. Participants may be asked to pick and place various objects, interact with articulated objects, or perform other motor tasks using a robotic manipulator. Participants may be asked to navigate a wheelchair.

Healthy Participants

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Fluent in the English language

You may not qualify if:

• Neurological injury or disease that results in functional paralysis

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator
• University of California, Los Angeles: lead

Study Sites (1)

UCLA Neural Engineering and Computation Lab

Los Angeles, California, 90095, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Movement Disorders

Interventions

Fixation, Ocular

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Eye Movements; Ocular Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Jonathan Kao, PhD

  UCLA Neural Engineering and Computation Lab

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Restoring Movement Study Coordinator

CONTACT

restoringmovementstudy@gmail.com

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor, UCLA ECE & CS

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2025
• First Posted: November 19, 2025
• Study Start: November 26, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2029
• Last Updated: December 24, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-12

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ICF
• Time Frame: Data will be available no later than the time of an associated publication or the end of performance period of the extramural award that generated the data, whichever comes first. DASH, which is an NIH-recommended domain-specific repository, has usually long retention cycles and will often host data "in perpetuity." The PI will not take down the data any sooner.
• Access Criteria: Scientific data and metadata will be archived on NICHD Data and Specimen Hub (DASH). DASH automatically assigns a digital object identifier (doi) to data files. DASH is an NIH-controlled-access data repository. The NICHD DASH Data Access Committee reviews all requests to access DASH data and biospecimens from identity-verified requesters to determine whether the proposed use is scientifically and ethically appropriate and does not conflict with constraints or research data use limitations identified by the institutions that submitted the research data. The Recipient's institution and the Recipient must sign and agree to the terms and conditions.

Locations

US (1)