Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)NCT07699094
AI-Guided Predictions of Blood Pressure Dysregulation Using Perfusion Index as a Novel Biomarker in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury
A study of Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) and Blood Pressure, run by James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if perfusion index (PI) can reliably predict changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during a cool temperature challenge. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 75 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI), Blood Pressure, Thermoregulation
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 24 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Sep 2026to 30 Jun 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 75 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- The participant had a spinal cord injury (SCI: C4-T12) for more than one year and the SCI was graded as ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A or B (unable to voluntarily move your legs)
- The participant can also be a gender and age-matched (±5 years) able-bodied (AB) control subject (similar gender and age to a subject with SCI).
- Subjects with SCI and AB controls must be between 18 and 75 years of age.
- If the participant are going to do the study, they must avoid caffeine and alcohol, maintain normal salt and water intake, and avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours prior to the study visit.
Who cannot join
- The participant has cardiovascular, kidney, or untreated thyroid disease
- The participant has had a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- The participant has diabetes mellitus
- The participant has an acute illness or infection
- The participant is dehydrated
- The participant smokes
Show all 9Show fewer
- The participant is pregnant
- The participant has broken, inflamed, or otherwise fragile skin
- The participant's Body Mass Index (BMI) is more than 30 kg/m2
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
James J Peters VA Medical Center
The Bronx, New York, 10468
Dylan Arnero, MA, 718-584-9000 ext. 5124, Dylan.Arnero@va.gov
Matthew T Maher, MS, 718-584-9000 ext. 1706, matthew.maher@va.gov
About this study
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if perfusion index (PI) can reliably predict changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during a cool temperature challenge. Participants with SCI can be 18-75 years of age, male or female, neurological level of injury C4-T12, ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS: A or B: motor complete) or gender and healthy age-matched able-bodied (AB) controls.
The main question this study aims to answer is: can PI reliably predict change in SBP during a cool temperature challenge? The investigators hypothesize that PI can be used as a biomarker of SBP in persons with SCI.
Read more
Researchers will compare the relationship of 1) changes in PI and SBP and 2) relationship of changes in other vital signs to SBP, during the cool temperature challenge. The researchers aim to determine if PI can be used as a biomarker of SBP in persons with SCI during a cool temperature challenge (experimental group/arm). Able-bodied controls (control group/arm) will receive the same intervention (cool challenge) as the experimental group.
During the study, participants will be asked to wear only shorts and a T-shirt so that their skin can be exposed to the warm and cool temperatures of the 2 rooms.
The investigators will put put on non-invasive sensors (taped or attached on the surface of your body) to measure PI, BP, and other vital signs. The investigators will record these measurements while the participant is seated in a wheelchair for 10 minutes in a warm room and up to 90 minutes in a cool room.
Read the detailed description
Introduction/Background: Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience impaired control of several autonomic functions, including blood pressure (BP) fluctuations and impaired body temperature regulation in response to exercise, cold exposure, or a full bladder. Hypertension (high BP) is commonly episodic (comes and goes) and without clinical symptoms (the person is unaware). Mechanisms for impaired BP regulation after SCI are not completely understood and contribute to the limited availability of reliable wearable devices for continuous BP monitoring in the community.
Purpose of the Study: By doing this research study, the investigators hope to learn how perfusion index (PI) and the other measured vital signs, respond to moving from the warm to cool room. The investigators will use sophisticated analysis of the data collected, which will include artificial intelligence, to determine how perfusion index can predict changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP).
The investigators have shown that PI can predict SBP (the greater of the 2 BP values, e.g., 120/80 mmHg) with high accuracy in animal studies of monkeys with SCI. Perfusion index can continuously measure (non-stop measuring) the blood flow in the skin using a pulse-oximeter (pulse oxygen meter) and other sensors on your skin. This new tool can help us to better understand why blood pressure is so unstable (goes quickly up and down) after SCI. The findings may also provide necessary information for developing new non-invasive and wearable devices to monitor blood pressure in the community, thereby allowing persons with SCI early detection, safety, and treatment of clinically silent high blood pressure episodes (episodes that you're not aware of).
Study Procedures: When the participant arrives, the investigators will take the their temperature with an ear thermometer to make sure they don't have a fever. If the participant is having a urinary tract infection (UTI), please call before traveling to the Center. Once at the Center, the investigators will use about 30 minutes in a mildly warm room (75-80 deg F) to tape temperature sensors to the participant's forehead (to measure their body temperature). The investigators will put oxygen meters on the participant's ear, finger and toe to measure perfusion index (PI: a ratio or percentage of blood flowing in your arteries compared to blood not flowing very much in your veins and tissues). The investigators will place a device on another finger that measures beat-to-beat BP device (your BP of every heartbeat).
Once the instrument setup is complete, the participant will remain seated in the wheelchair (or the investigators will provide them with one if they are an AB control) and will take the above measures for 10 minutes. Then, the investigators will move the participant into a cool room (64 deg F) for 90 minutes and continue the same measurements.
Impact: Our studies may provide the scientific community with a novel biomarker and tool to better understand mechanisms for unstable blood pressure control after SCI. The findings may also provide the scientific rationale for development of next-generation non-invasive and accurate and reliable wearable devices to monitor SBP in the community, thereby allowing persons with SCI early detection, safety, and treatment of clinically silent hypertensive episodes (autonomic dysreflexia: AD).
Study Aim: To determine the feasibility of PI as a novel non-invasive biomarker to predict SBP in persons with SCI during a cool temperature challenge.
- Being tested
- Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)
- Medical subject headings
- Spinal Cord Injuries
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Other
Participants with SCI will undergo a controlled, non-invasive cool thermal challenge of 18°C (64.4°F) in a climate-controlled chamber for up to 90 minutes. Participants will remain seated in their wheelchair while wearing a standard T-shirt and shorts to ensure uniform skin exposure. Continuous non-invasive monitoring of perfusion index and blood pressure will be performed throughout the baseline of 27°C (80°F) and cool challenge 18°C (64.4°F) phases to evaluate their relationship.
Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Other
Able-bodied participants will undergo a controlled, non-invasive cool thermal challenge of 18°C (64.4°F) in a climate-controlled chamber for up to 90 minutes. Participants will remain seated in a wheelchair that will be provided while wearing a standard T-shirt and shorts to ensure uniform skin exposure.
Continuous non-invasive monitoring of perfusion index and blood pressure will be performed throughout the baseline of 27°C (80°F) and cool challenge 18°C (64.4°F) phases to evaluate their relationship.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Participants with SCI: Cool temperature challenge | Experimental | Participants with SCI will be transferred from a thermoneutral room (27°C) to a cool thermal chamber (18°C) for up to 90 minutes to determine change in 1) perfusion index and 2) systolic blood pressure. Receives: Other: Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C) |
| Able-bodied participants (Control): Cool temperature challenge | Active comparator | Able-bodied participants will be transferred from a thermoneutral room (27°C) to a cool thermal chamber (18°C) for up to 90 minutes to determine change in 1) perfusion index and 2) systolic blood pressure. Receives: Other: Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C) |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Perfusion Index (PI)
Perfusion index (PI: ranging from 0.02 to 20) reflects the ratio of pulsatile (arterial) blood flow to non-pulsatile static blood flow. PI will be continuously collected using Masimo Radical-7 pulse oximeters (Masimo Corp., Irvine, CA) attached to three sites: an ear, a finger, and a toe. This multi-site data will serve as the primary independent predictor variable of SBP in the AI/machine learning models.
Measured: Continuously recorded during 10 minutes of the baseline thermoneutral (27°C) phase and throughout the cool thermal challenge (18°C) phase for up to 90 minutes.
Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP)
Beat-to-beat systolic blood pressure (SBP: mmHg) will be continuously collected via a finger-cuff sensor using the VitalStream-CM wireless hemodynamic monitor (CareTaker Medical LLC, Charlottesville, VA). SBP will serve as the primary target dependent variable that the investigators are trying to predict to evaluate sympathetic/vascular reactivity and to train the non-invasive machine learning prediction algorithms.
Measured: Continuously recorded during 10 minutes of the baseline thermoneutral (27°C) phase and throughout the cool thermal challenge (18°C) phase for up to 90 minutes.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted13 Jul 2026
- Study start1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Jun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Jun 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- 12 Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury 12 Subjects who are Able Bodied
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- Sponsor type
- US federal agency
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Jill M. Wecht, Ed.D., James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07699094
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1930980
- Other IDs
- RFA # 20465, SFS # PART72025
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 7 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 10 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The investigators have an approved Data Use Agreement (DUA) with Dr. Leif Havton of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Transferring data to our subaward site, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, will allow Dr Leif Havton to perform analysis of the de-identified data, which will include artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) to determine best surrogate biomarkers for blood pressure predictions.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 10 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- AI-Guided Predictions of Blood Pressure Dysregulation Using Perfusion Index as a Novel Biomarker in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07699094
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 1930980
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 24 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical CenterUS federal agency
- Study start
- 1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 30 Jun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 30 Jun 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 13 Jul 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if perfusion index (PI) can reliably predict changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) during a cool temperature challenge. Participants with SCI can be 18-75 years of age, male or female, neurological level of injury C4-T12, ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS: A or B: motor complete) or gender and healthy age-matched able-bodied (AB) controls.
The main question this study aims to answer is: can PI reliably predict change in SBP during a cool temperature challenge? The investigators hypothesize that PI can be used as a biomarker of SBP in persons with SCI.
Researchers will compare the relationship of 1) changes in PI and SBP and 2) relationship of changes in other vital signs to SBP, during the cool temperature challenge. The researchers aim to determine if PI can be used as a biomarker of SBP in persons with SCI during a cool temperature challenge (experimental group/arm). Able-bodied controls (control group/arm) will receive the same intervention (cool challenge) as the experimental group.
During the study, participants will be asked to wear only shorts and a T-shirt so that their skin can be exposed to the warm and cool temperatures of the 2 rooms.
The investigators will put put on non-invasive sensors (taped or attached on the surface of your body) to measure PI, BP, and other vital signs. The investigators will record these measurements while the participant is seated in a wheelchair for 10 minutes in a warm room and up to 90 minutes in a cool room.
Detailed description
Introduction/Background: Persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) may experience impaired control of several autonomic functions, including blood pressure (BP) fluctuations and impaired body temperature regulation in response to exercise, cold exposure, or a full bladder. Hypertension (high BP) is commonly episodic (comes and goes) and without clinical symptoms (the person is unaware). Mechanisms for impaired BP regulation after SCI are not completely understood and contribute to the limited availability of reliable wearable devices for continuous BP monitoring in the community.
Purpose of the Study: By doing this research study, the investigators hope to learn how perfusion index (PI) and the other measured vital signs, respond to moving from the warm to cool room. The investigators will use sophisticated analysis of the data collected, which will include artificial intelligence, to determine how perfusion index can predict changes in systolic blood pressure (SBP).
The investigators have shown that PI can predict SBP (the greater of the 2 BP values, e.g., 120/80 mmHg) with high accuracy in animal studies of monkeys with SCI. Perfusion index can continuously measure (non-stop measuring) the blood flow in the skin using a pulse-oximeter (pulse oxygen meter) and other sensors on your skin. This new tool can help us to better understand why blood pressure is so unstable (goes quickly up and down) after SCI. The findings may also provide necessary information for developing new non-invasive and wearable devices to monitor blood pressure in the community, thereby allowing persons with SCI early detection, safety, and treatment of clinically silent high blood pressure episodes (episodes that you're not aware of).
Study Procedures: When the participant arrives, the investigators will take the their temperature with an ear thermometer to make sure they don't have a fever. If the participant is having a urinary tract infection (UTI), please call before traveling to the Center. Once at the Center, the investigators will use about 30 minutes in a mildly warm room (75-80 deg F) to tape temperature sensors to the participant's forehead (to measure their body temperature). The investigators will put oxygen meters on the participant's ear, finger and toe to measure perfusion index (PI: a ratio or percentage of blood flowing in your arteries compared to blood not flowing very much in your veins and tissues). The investigators will place a device on another finger that measures beat-to-beat BP device (your BP of every heartbeat).
Once the instrument setup is complete, the participant will remain seated in the wheelchair (or the investigators will provide them with one if they are an AB control) and will take the above measures for 10 minutes. Then, the investigators will move the participant into a cool room (64 deg F) for 90 minutes and continue the same measurements.
Impact: Our studies may provide the scientific community with a novel biomarker and tool to better understand mechanisms for unstable blood pressure control after SCI. The findings may also provide the scientific rationale for development of next-generation non-invasive and accurate and reliable wearable devices to monitor SBP in the community, thereby allowing persons with SCI early detection, safety, and treatment of clinically silent hypertensive episodes (autonomic dysreflexia: AD).
Study Aim: To determine the feasibility of PI as a novel non-invasive biomarker to predict SBP in persons with SCI during a cool temperature challenge.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Non-randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- 12 Subjects with Spinal Cord Injury 12 Subjects who are Able Bodied
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Participants with SCI: Cool temperature challenge | Experimental | Other: Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Participants with SCI will be transferred from a thermoneutral room (27°C) to a cool thermal chamber (18°C) for up to 90 minutes to determine change in 1) perfusion index and 2) systolic blood pressure. |
| Able-bodied participants (Control): Cool temperature challenge | Active comparator | Other: Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Able-bodied participants will be transferred from a thermoneutral room (27°C) to a cool thermal chamber (18°C) for up to 90 minutes to determine change in 1) perfusion index and 2) systolic blood pressure. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 75 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- The participant had a spinal cord injury (SCI: C4-T12) for more than one year and the SCI was graded as ASIA Impairment Scale (AIS) A or B (unable to voluntarily move your legs)
- The participant can also be a gender and age-matched (±5 years) able-bodied (AB) control subject (similar gender and age to a subject with SCI).
- Subjects with SCI and AB controls must be between 18 and 75 years of age.
- If the participant are going to do the study, they must avoid caffeine and alcohol, maintain normal salt and water intake, and avoid strenuous exercise for 24 hours prior to the study visit.
Key exclusion criteria (9 listed)
- The participant has cardiovascular, kidney, or untreated thyroid disease
- The participant has had a traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- The participant has diabetes mellitus
- The participant has an acute illness or infection
- The participant is dehydrated
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Participants with SCI will undergo a controlled, non-invasive cool thermal challenge of 18°C (64.4°F) in a climate-controlled chamber for up to 90 minutes. Participants will remain seated in their wheelchair while wearing a standard T-shirt and shorts to ensure uniform skin exposure. Continuous non-invasive monitoring of perfusion index and blood pressure will be performed throughout the baseline of 27°C (80°F) and cool challenge 18°C (64.4°F) phases to evaluate their relationship. | Other | Participants with SCI: Cool temperature challenge |
| Controlled Cool Thermal Challenge (18°C)Able-bodied participants will undergo a controlled, non-invasive cool thermal challenge of 18°C (64.4°F) in a climate-controlled chamber for up to 90 minutes. Participants will remain seated in a wheelchair that will be provided while wearing a standard T-shirt and shorts to ensure uniform skin exposure. Continuous non-invasive monitoring of perfusion index and blood pressure will be performed throughout the baseline of 27°C (80°F) and cool challenge 18°C (64.4°F) phases to evaluate their relationship. | Other | Able-bodied participants (Control): Cool temperature challenge |
Primary outcome
Perfusion Index (PI)
Time frame: Continuously recorded during 10 minutes of the baseline thermoneutral (27°C) phase and throughout the cool thermal challenge (18°C) phase for up to 90 minutes.
Perfusion index (PI: ranging from 0.02 to 20) reflects the ratio of pulsatile (arterial) blood flow to non-pulsatile static blood flow. PI will be continuously collected using Masimo Radical-7 pulse oximeters (Masimo Corp., Irvine, CA) attached to three sites: an ear, a finger, and a toe. This multi-site data will serve as the primary independent predictor variable of SBP in the AI/machine learning models.
Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP)
Time frame: Continuously recorded during 10 minutes of the baseline thermoneutral (27°C) phase and throughout the cool thermal challenge (18°C) phase for up to 90 minutes.
Beat-to-beat systolic blood pressure (SBP: mmHg) will be continuously collected via a finger-cuff sensor using the VitalStream-CM wireless hemodynamic monitor (CareTaker Medical LLC, Charlottesville, VA). SBP will serve as the primary target dependent variable that the investigators are trying to predict to evaluate sympathetic/vascular reactivity and to train the non-invasive machine learning prediction algorithms.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 10 Aug 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The investigators have an approved Data Use Agreement (DUA) with Dr. Leif Havton of the VA Puget Sound Health Care System. Transferring data to our subaward site, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, will allow Dr Leif Havton to perform analysis of the de-identified data, which will include artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) to determine best surrogate biomarkers for blood pressure predictions.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study of Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) and Blood Pressure, run by James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 10 Aug 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Each site lists its own contact: choose the nearest one under Trial locations. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Perfusion Index (PI) (time frame: Continuously recorded during 10 minutes of the baseline thermoneutral (27°C) phase and throughout the cool thermal challenge (18°C) phase for up to 90 minutes.). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 10 Aug 2026.