UNITE Study (UCSD-SW) for COVID-19

The research objective of the UNITE Study is to assess the potential efficacy of ultrasound application to the spleen using a small wearable ultrasound system in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2...

Lead sponsor: Imanuel Lerman•1 U.S. locations•View source on ClinicalTrials.gov

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Sponsors

Lead Sponsor

Imanuel Lerman

Collaborators

SecondWave Systems Inc.
MCDC (Unites States Department of Defense)

Detailed Description: Ultrasound is widely used in human medicine because it is safe, non-invasive, and painless. The same kind of ultrasound that is used for imaging (for example, to visualize babies in utero) may be able to treat inflammatory diseases including COVID-19. COVID-19 is a disease caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Some COVID-19 patients develop a severe respiratory disease called acute respiratory distress syndrome and this disease is caused, in part, by a significant increase in inflammatory factors. Clinical therapies that reduce this elevated inflammation in the body (e.g., inflammation molecules in your body called cytokines) may be capable of diminishing symptoms in severe cases of COVID-19. Multiple studies in animals with hyper-inflammation conditions (e.g., inflammatory arthritis and sepsis/LPS injections) and recent human studies (e.g., for the treatment of joint inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis) have shown that ultrasound applied to the spleen can suppress blood/genetic markers of inflammation. Similar inflammatory markers, or cytokines, are elevated in the lungs of COVID-19 patients and believed to cause severe symptoms. Splenic ultrasound can potentially lower these inflammatory cytokines without hindering antibody production, leading to clinical improvements in COVID-19 patients. This study will employ investigational ultrasound devices produced by SecondWave Systems called the MINI System (Miniature Immunotherapy and Neuromodulation Instrument System). There will be two groups in this study with 20 participants in each group. One group will receive ultrasound application to the spleen, in addition to the standard clinical care. A control group will receive standard clinical care without splenic ultrasound. Each ultrasound application session will last about 30 minutes per day for 7 days, unless the participant is discharged sooner. For ultrasound stimulation, a small wearable ultrasound device is positioned on the upper left abdomen area over the ribs. The ultrasound session on the first study day includes a period of 5-10 minutes when study personnel use an ultrasound imaging device to locate the spleen and to position the wearable MINI device in a proper location around the ribs area, and an approximately 18-minute period for application of ultrasound to the spleen. Collection of clinical outcome data and daily blood draws will be performed in each participant throughout the study through Day 8. Additional data collected from each participant during their routine clinical care beyond their study involvement will also be analyzed together with the study data to evaluate the specific aims of the clinical trial. Study Design Go to sections Study Type : Interventional (Clinical Trial) Estimated Enrollment : 40 participants Allocation: Randomized Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment Intervention Model Description: The participants will be randomized to two groups: ultrasound group and control group. All participants will still receive standard clinical care. The ultrasound group will receive daily ultrasound application to the spleen for up to 7 days, in addition to the standard clinical care. The control group will receive standard clinical care without ultrasound stimulation. Primary Purpose: Other

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Data from ClinicalTrials.govLast updated on ClinicalTrials.gov: December 10, 2021Terms

Trial snapshot

StatusUNKNOWN

PhaseNA

Enrollment40

Start dateMar 2021

Last updatedDec 10, 2021

Condition

Covid19

Locations shown

University of California San Diego

San Diego, California

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Data Source & Attribution

This clinical trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

ClinicalTrials.gov last update: December 10, 2021Data synced to Clareo: April 28, 2026

Modifications: This data has been reformatted for display purposes. Eligibility criteria have been parsed into inclusion/exclusion sections. Location data has been geocoded to enable distance-based search. For the authoritative and most current information, please visit ClinicalTrials.gov.

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