NCT07397559

Spatiotemporal tSCS in Spinal Cord Injury

Spatiotemporal Control of Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation for Motor Function in SCI

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 48 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 16 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Spinal cord injury leads to long-lasting impairment, and currently, there is no cure for paralysis. Although transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation has shown promising results in recovering lost movements, its poor selectivity in muscle recruitment compared to invasive approaches limits the type of rehabilitation exercises that can be practiced. This project studies how spatial, frequency, and amplitude control of stimulation can be used to selectively target different neural pathways and muscle groups.

Detailed description

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life-altering event that leads to long-lasting motor impairment. Currently, there is no cure for paralysis. Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) combined with exercise training can restore posture control, voluntary walking, and arm/hand function in people with SCI. However, its low selectivity in activating specific muscles compared to invasive approaches limits the rehabilitation exercises that can be practiced and help with recovery. This project will generate evidence-based knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying spatial, frequency, and amplitude control of tSCS in generating different types of leg movements. Participants with SCI will perform leg movements using different stimulation parameter configurations in non-invasive tSCS. We will quantify changes in muscle recruitment, torque generation, and pain enabled by the different stimulation parameters. A clear understanding of the mechanisms by which these different parameters in non-invasive tSCS can be used to selectively target different muscle groups will promote the development of personalized therapies that directly target only those muscles that need assistance while respecting individuals' residual motor function.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	No Stimulation	Participants complete motor tasks and outcome assessments with no spinal cord stimulation applied.
DEVICE	Conventional tSCS	Non-invasive transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) is delivered at 30 Hz using a single cathode electrode targeting the lumbar spinal cord to reinforce leg motor output during study tasks
DEVICE	Spatiotemporal tSCS	Stimulation parameters, including electrode location, stimulation frequency, and stimulation amplitude, are systematically varied to reinforce leg motor output during study tasks

Timeline

• Start date: 2026-01-19
• Primary completion: 2030-08-31
• Completion: 2030-08-31
• First posted: 2026-02-09
• Last updated: 2026-02-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States

Regulatory

• FDA-regulated device study