A New Treatment for Chronic Pain Combining Neuromodulation, Computer Assisted Training and Telemonitoring

Pain Clinical Trial

— TechNoPain  

Official title:

A New Digital Technology-based Treatment for Chronic Pain Combining Neuromodulation, Computerassisted Training and Telemonitoring

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT06306053
• Other study ID #: 2022/ST/217
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: April 1, 2024
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2026

Study information

• Verified date: March 2024
• Source: ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo
• Contact: Alberto Priori, PhD
• Phone: +390250323232
• Email: alberto.priori[@]unimi.it
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Chronic pain (CP) is a leading cause of medical disability, healthcare expenditure, and reduced psychological well-being. Given the limited mobility, travel burden, and cost, access to care can be problematic for patients suffering from this disease, driving the recent shift toward care through telehealth programs. Given the complex interrelationship of physical and psychosocial aspects related to chronic pain, in this project the investigators propose to validate and investigate the effectiveness of new integrated health interventions by combining the technique of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), complementary therapies and telemonitoring. The investigators hypothesize that this novel combined approach will provide a more effective strategy to overcome the classic barriers of pharmacological treatments and access to healthcare due to lack of mobility. To do this, the investigators will rely on a previously developed integrated platform that enables effective delivery of non-pharmacological interventions and outcome assessment. Many patients do not benefit from pharmacological and invasive treatments, leading to the development of alternative therapeutic options such as non-invasive brain stimulation (e.g. tDCS) and complementary interventions to improve physical and psychological well-being. These complementary interventions reduced pain intensity and psychological distress by improving individuals' ability to manage and cope with their pain. However, due to the multiple co-occurring factors associated with chronic pain, a multidisciplinary and integrated treatment approach is challenging. Technology ecosystems can be a reliable tool to achieve such a diverse personalized approach and evaluate their results. In a previous project, the investigators developed PainRE-Life, a dynamic and integrated technology ecosystem to enable continuity of care for CP patients, including personalized applications, training tools and telemonitoring tools for outcome assessment.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 126
• Est. completion date: April 30, 2026
• Est. primary completion date: January 31, 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• patients with chronic pain (Fibromyalgia, Headache, Oncological Pain)

• Age > 18;

• Cognitive and motor skills sufficient to support a rehabilitation process mediated by an electronic device on a signed declaration by the clinician; -Having completed and signed the informed consent form, after a detailed explanation of the task and the tools used in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Have started new pharmacological treatments or have changed therapies that act on pain for less than a month;

• Have a brain stimulator, heart marrow stimulator or pumps for intrathecal drug delivery;

• Respiratory, cardiac, metabolic or other conditions incompatible with at least 30 minutes of light or moderate intensity exercise therapy;

• Aphasia, dementia, or psychiatric comorbidity interfering with communication or rehabilitation program compliance;

• Severe cognitive deficits;

• Blindness or severe vision problems which may interfere with the use of the tablet;

• Presence of cranial bone breaches;

• Recurrent seizures not being treated;

• Insufficient knowledge of the Italian language and/or inability to understand verbal and written instructions;

• Concomitant participation in another study or clinical trial involving rehabilitation therapy (recreational therapy, occupational therapy, physiotherapy) or administration of an investigational drug

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Chronic Pain
• Pain

Intervention

Combination Product:
• tDCS+EuleriaLab
Home based: Non invasive Neuromodulation treatment + Motor Training

Device:
• tDCS
Non invasive brain stimulation

Other:
• EuleriaLab
Home Motor Training

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Italy	ASST-Santi Paolo e Carlo Hospital	Milan
Italy	Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico	Milan
Italy	Istituto Europeo di Oncologia	Milan

Sponsors (4)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo	Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, University of Milan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Italy, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)	VAS is a straight horizontal line of fixed length, usually 100 mm. The ends are defined as the extreme limits of the parameter to be measured (pain) orientated from the left (worst) to the right (best). The patient marks on the line the point that they feel represents their perception of their current state. The VAS score is determined by measuring in millimetres from the left hand end of the line to the point that the patient marks. Using a ruler, the score is determined by measuring the distance (mm) on the 10-cm line between the "no pain" anchor and the patient's mark, providing a range of scores from 0-100. A higher score indicates greater pain intensity.	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)
Secondary	12-item Short Form Survey (SF12)	Short Form Survey (SF-12) is a health-related quality of life assessment tool that measures patients' physical and mental health. The lowest possible value is 0 and the highest is 100. In general, the highest values indicate a better result and the lowest indicate a worse result.	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)
Secondary	Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS)	The HADS is a self-report rating scale of 14 items on a 4-point Likert scale (range 0-3). It is designed to measure anxiety and depression (7 items for each subscale). The total score is the sum of the 14 items, and for each subscale the score is the sum of the respective seven items (ranging from 0-21). 0-7 (Normal) 8-10 (Mild) 11-15 (Moderate) 16-21 (Severe)	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)
Secondary	Brief Pain Inventory (BPI)	This self-administered questionnaire assesses pain severity and its impact on quality of life through 15 questions. The patients responded using a 10-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater pain severity and greater interference with that aspect of life.	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)
Secondary	Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS)	This self-administered questionnaire measures catastrophic thinking related to chronic pain. The patients rated how often they have 13 different thoughts and feelings while experiencing pain from 0 to 4. The total sum of the scores ranges between 0 and 52, with higher total scores indicating more catastrophic thinking.	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)
Secondary	Shared Decision-Making Questionnaire 9-Item (SDM-Q-9)	The SDM-Q-9 instrument was developed to assess the patient subjective experience of SDM according to nine stages on the decision-making process. It describes the experience of SDM through nine items which are scored on a six-point Likert scale from 0 (completely disagree) to 5 (completely agree).	Baseline (Day 1), after 1 week of treatment (Day 5), at the end of the treatment (Day 19), one month follow up (month 1), 3 months follow up (month 3)