Propagation Waves in Tactile Material Perception

Perception Clinical Trial

Official title:

An Investigation of the Contribution of Proximal Vibratory Cues in Tactile Material Perception'

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05253508
• Other study ID #: NL75084.058.21
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 1, 2022
• Est. completion date: March 30, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: February 2022
• Source: Reinier Haga Orthopedisch Centrum
• Contact: Karina Driller
• Phone: +45 30484333
• Email: k.k.driller[@]tudelft.nl
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

During the exploration of surfaces with the bare finger, vibratory signals arise and propagate through the finger and hand. While research into mechanical and neural response characteristics has demonstrated that these signals carry rich information about touched objects and their properties, only little is known about the role these propagation waves play in human perception and to which extent the somatosensory system is able to collect information from afferents at more proximal locations than the skin-object surface. Using ring-block anaesthesia (lidocaine) we will temporarily inhibit haptic feedback sensations of healthy participants' index finger during interactions with 3D-printed surface probes that are systematically varied in two important material dimensions, namely their roughness and hardness (elasticity), while the participants carry out a well-established psychophysical discrimination task. The results will then be compared to a control condition without anaesthesia. An accelerometer sensor, placed on the dorsal side of the hand, will serve to simultaneously record the propagating tactile waves. Given their role in material perception, thermal cues will be monitored during the experiment with a thermometer and the hydration level of the fingertip skin will be measured regularly using a corneometer. This research will allow us to understand the role of propagation waves in material perception. It seeks to uncover some of the perceptual mechanisms that remain intact during surface discrimination of textured, compliant surfaces, while local information is temporarily inhibited. The results will have implications for how we provide feedback about material properties for sensorimotor control to this living with prosthetic limbs. It is hypothesised that propagation waves that arise during these haptic interactions contain behaviourally relevant information used for the discrimination of surface properties.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 15
• Est. completion date: March 30, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: March 15, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years or older;

• No reported psychiatric or neurological disorders;

• Able to provide informed consent;

• Voluntary participation with written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Is pregnant or currently breastfeeding;

• Has a known Lidocaine allergy;

• Is currently undergoing any other medical intervention or taking part in a study involving one;

• Has a history of finger/hand/upper limb trauma or disease;

• Has a disease affecting normal motor functioning.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Perception

Intervention

Drug:
• Lidocaine 2% Injectable Solution
A digital nerve block by injections to the base of the finger

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Netherlands	Reinier Haga Orthopedic Center	Zoetermeer

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Reinier Haga Orthopedisch Centrum	Delft University of Technology

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Netherlands, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in discrimination thresholds	The (statistical) difference between psychophysical measures (i.e., difference limen/discrimination thresholds) when the index finger is anaesthetised as compared to non-anaesthetized.	one year