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

Sponsor
Groupe Hospitalier du Havre
Study ID
NCT07371754
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

Notify me when recruiting opens

Save your spot on the interest list for this study. We'll keep your details with this study so our team can follow up when recruiting opens.

Not yet recruiting

Add your contact details and location so we can keep your interest tied to this study.

Conditions

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Accepted

Interventions

  • Intercostal muscle shear wave elastography (SWE) during standardized inspiratory loading — DIAGNOSTIC_TEST
    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.

Study Details

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.

Key Dates

First listed
Jan 28, 2026
Start date
Mar 1, 2026
Status verified
Jan 2026
Primary completion
Mar 1, 2027
Completion
Mar 1, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
20 participants (estimated)

Arms

  • Arm: Healthy adults
    Participant without respiratory, muscle or thoracic abnormalities
  • Arm: COPD group
    Patients with COPD

Primary Outcome Measure

Correlation between intercostal muscle stiffness (SWE) and respiratory effort (esophageal pressure-time product) [ Time Frame: During a single study visit (≈45 minutes), at rest and at each standardized inspiratory load level ]

Central Contacts

Find similar trials

Nationwide
COPD trialsPulmonology trialsLung disease trials

Related Studies