NCT05066009

Sleep/Wake State Assessment with Non-invasive Earbuds

Feasibility of Detecting Within Subject Differences in Sleepiness with NextSense Earbud Electroencephalography Devices

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 8 (actual)
• Sponsor: Emory University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study is a within subject's assessment of whether a novel wearable technology, NextSense electroencephalography earbuds (EEGBuds), is able to detect differences in onset to sleep from wake versus in-laboratory, gold-standard electroencephalography (EEG) utilized as part of a standard four trial Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (MWT) at medicated baseline versus free of prescribed medications for promoting wake (random order).

Detailed description

Detection of "sleepiness" has for more than four decades relied upon methods that acquire the electroencephalogram (EEG) from multiple surface electrodes applied to the scalp and hardware that amplifies and stores information on a central processing unit (CPU). There are substantial limitations to this methodology beyond the fact that it is time, labor, and cost intensive. Such procedures restrict a subject's freedom of movement and necessitate that patients are monitored by trained staff in an accredited laboratory which levies substantial time and financial burdens upon patients and families. Finally, the test-re-test reliability and utility of testing paradigms reliant solely on an EEG 'signature' to detect statistically meaningful - let alone clinically meaningful - changes is dubious, and has come under increased scrutiny. This study will assess whether novel wearable technology (NextSense EEGBuds and/or Ellcie Healthy Glasses) are able to detect differences in onset to sleep in patients diagnosed as having one of the central disorders of hypersomnolence (e.g., narcolepsy type 1 or type 2, or idiopathic hypersomnia) while using their prescribed wake promoting medication(s) versus while they are not medicated, and how it's sensitivity compares to differences as detected by the standard MWT. The two study visits will occur within 16 days of one another.

Conditions

• Hypersomnolence

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	NextSense EEG-enabled earbuds	Each NextSense EEGBud device comes with a universal-fit and/or custom-fit earmold with biometric sensors to detect the EEG, motion (via tri-axial accelerometers), and heart rate. A unique custom mold is created employing a 3D printer to capture the geometry of a patients' ear and external auditory canal with a ring laser scanner to an accuracy of within 0.1 mm. This design process allows for a custom fit, and therefore both comfort and complete, consistent contact with the inner surface of the ear canal, providing high quality signal capture of brain activity, and head and eye movements. In addition to the custom fit earmold, universal fit earmolds are available as well. The universal fit earmolds were designed also to allow for comfort and consistent contact with the inner surface of the ear canal to provide high quality signal capture of brain activity, and head and eye movements.
DEVICE	Ellcie Healthy eyeglasses	Ellcie Healthy glasses frames are embedded with multi-modal sensors for measuring eye movements, head movement, and ECG.
OTHER	Drug Holiday	Participants will not take their prescribed wakefulness promoting medication(s) for one day to complete the study assessments. Medications typically used to promote wakefulness include amphetamine salts (Adderall), armodafinil (Nuvigil), clarithromycin (Biaxin), flumazenil, methylphenidate (Ritalin), and modafinil (Provigil).

Timeline

• Start date: 2021-10-13
• Primary completion: 2023-10-27
• Completion: 2023-10-27
• First posted: 2021-10-04
• Last updated: 2025-02-11

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study