Recruiting

Neck Exoskeleton

Sponsor:

University of Utah

Code:

NCT07836751

Conditions

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Other Neuromuscular Disorders

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

neck exoskeleton controller

Study Details

Brief summary:

The investigators will develop and evaluate controllers for a powered neck exoskeleton in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to understand how to allow adequate personalization and function and achieves satisfaction from users. In this small device feasibility study, participants will be enrolled from the ALS clinic at the University of Utah Hospital. After obtaining written consent, participants will perform tasks while using the neck exoskeleton with the controllers. Tasks include computerized tracking tasks and simulated activities of daily living. Breaks will be added between tasks to avoid fatigue. Head-neck kinematics, gaze data, controller preferences, and survey responses will be recorded.

Conditions

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis & Other Neuromuscular Disorders

Study ID

NCT07836751

Start date

Jun 30, 2025

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Dec 1, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Oct 31, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • neck weakness and age over 18

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Any cognitive deficits or visual impairments that would prevent from safely using the device and completing the tasks and poor device fitting.

Study Design

Enrollment

12 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Crossover

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: controller 1

experimental: controller 2

Interventions

neck exoskeleton controller

Subjects will use the neck exoskeleton controller to move their head-neck and complete tasks involving head-neck motions. The neck exoskeleton will be worn and controlled by the users to assist them during tasks.

Primary outcome measure

  • number of tuning [ Time Frame: during the intervention (using the exoskeleton to complete tasks) approximately 1 hour ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Research Coordinator

801-585-2536uwrl@UofUtah.onmicrosoft.com

Locations

Utah Wearable Robotics Laboratory, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering

Recruiting

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84112

Contacts

Research Coordinator

801-585-2536uwrl@UofUtah.onmicrosoft.com

Haohan Zhang, PhD

801-585-2536haohan.zhang@utah.edu

Principal Investigator:

Haohan Zhang, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Utah

Last update posted

Sep 23, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • dropped head syndrome

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-24. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Utah on 2026-09-23. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.