AI-Powered Closed-Loop Multielectrode Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation: Real-Time Adjustments for Enhanced Motor Recovery in Spinal Cord Injury (AIM RECOVER)
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Singapore General Hospital
- Where
- Singapore1 site in 1 countryChoose a country to see its sites
- Trial code
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 7 people, planned
- Started
- May 2026
- Expected to end
- Sept 2028
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Dynamic stimulation
- Static stimulation
- Record updated
- 5 March 2026
Who can take part
- Age
- 21 years to 75 years
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Can take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 24 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Healthy volunteers:
- Adults aged 21 years or older with the mental capacity to provide informed consent
- No prior diagnosis of neuromuscular or neurological conditions affecting the lower limbs
- Able to walk independently with a normal gait pattern, as confirmed by clinical observation done by the study team; SCI patients:
- Age 21 -75 years
- Non-progressive, incomplete SCI (traumatic or non-traumatic)
- International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) /ASIA Impairment scale (AIS) grade B, C, or D, with Lower Extremity Motor Scores (ISNCSCI-LEMS) less than or equal to 40
- Injury level at/above L1 (above conus medullaris) with intact segmental reflexes below level of lesion
- Able to provide informed consent
- No contraindication for tSCS, such as pace makers or other implantable electrical devices
- Eligible for body-weight support treadmill training
- Able to stand with body weight support and/or assistance
Who cannot take part
- Uncontrolled neuropathic or musculoskeletal pain, or contractures affecting participation in therapy
- Prior exposure to tSCS or eSCS interventions
- Presence of significant or unstable medical comorbidities, including uncontrolled cardiopulmonary disease or severe cognitive impairment, as determined by the study team
- Diagnosis of any neuromuscular or musculoskeletal disorders (e.g., congenital skeletal deformity, limb amputation, neurological disorders, myopathy)
- Significant or unstable medical co-morbidities, including uncontrolled cardiopulmonary disease, severe cognitive impairment, or severe dysautonomia, as determined by the study team
- Known history of peripheral nerve injury (e.g., traumatic nerve injury, entrapment neuropathy)
- Active malignancy or ongoing cancer treatment
- Skin conditions (e.g., ulcers, infections, malignant lesions) that limit the application of tSCS electrodes
- Healthy voluteers:
- Abnormal gait pattern due to underlying medical co-morbidities, as identified through physical examination and clinical assessment, and confirmed by the study team
- Current pregnancy; SCI patients:
- Pregnancy
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 21 and 75 years old?
This trial has no sites in United States.
It has sites in one country. Choose a country to see its sites.
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Spinal cord injury (SCI) often results in persistent motor deficits that are inadequately addressed by conventional rehabilitation. Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) is a promising non-invasive neuromodulatory approach that can enhance motor activation and gait performance; however, current tSCS systems rely on static, pre-programmed stimulation parameters that do not adapt to real-time motor output or task demands. This limitation may reduce muscle selectivity and disrupt the spatiotemporal dynamics of spinal network activation required for functional movement.
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This study aims to develop and evaluate an AI-powered closed-loop multielectrode tSCS system that dynamically adjusts stimulation parameters in real time based on kinematic and surface electromyography (EMG) feedback during walking in individuals with incomplete SCI. The study will compare immediate muscle recruitment and motor performance between conventional static tSCS and dynamic, targeted tSCS guided by real-time physiological signals.
The investigators hypothesize that AI-driven closed-loop tSCS will be safe and feasible, and will result in superior muscle activation patterns and improved gait performance compared with static stimulation. Findings from this study will provide foundational evidence for adaptive neuromodulation strategies and support the advancement of next-generation, data-driven spinal cord stimulation technologies for neurorehabilitation in SCI.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Conventional stimulationExisting treatment, for comparison
Conventional single-electrode continuous transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (static tSCS)
Treatment: Static stimulation
- Multielectrode dynamic stimulationTreatment being tested
Continuous midline stimulation with concurrent lateral electrode activation targeting the relevant nerve root during voluntary movement attempts (dynamic tSCS)
Treatment: Dynamic stimulation
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07452133, who can take part
- Record updated
- 5 March 2026