NCT07371754

Shear Wave Elastography of Intercostal Muscles for the Non-invasive Assessment of the Work of BreathinG

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 20 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Groupe Hospitalier du Havre · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Quantifying respiratory effort is a key step in physiological and clinical research on exercise tolerance, mechanisms of fatigability, and ventilatory impairment. To date, reliable assessment relies on an invasive method: esophageal pressure (Pes) measurement using a balloon catheter inserted into the esophagus. Although Pes provides an indirect estimate of pleural and intrathoracic pressure, it is uncomfortable for patients, requires dedicated equipment, and may limit study participation. In critically ill patients, a noninvasive approach to quantify respiratory effort would have major clinical and scientific value. In acute respiratory distress, accurately tracking the intensity and evolution of respiratory effort could support earlier therapeutic decision-making. Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) is an ultrasound technology enabling very high acquisition rates and estimating tissue stiffness from shear-wave propagation induced by an acoustic impulse. Because muscle stiffness is strongly related to force produced during contraction, we hypothesize that intercostal muscle stiffness measured by SWE correlates with respiratory work and increases with rising inspiratory load.

Conditions

• COPD
• Healthy Adult

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Intercostal muscle shear wave elastography (SWE) during standardized inspiratory loading	Ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) is performed to quantify intercostal muscle stiffness at rest and during standardized inspiratory loading/controlled breathing. SWE acquisitions are synchronized with physiological reference recordings (e.g., esophageal pressure and/or diaphragm EMG when available) to estimate and track respiratory effort/work noninvasively.

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-03-01
• Primary completion: 2027-03-01
• Completion: 2027-03-01
• First posted: 2026-01-28
• Last updated: 2026-01-28