Clinical trials

Voice could be considered a new vital sign in the future, being collected in routine care and complement other medical assessments. Vocal biomarkers (VB) are voice characteristics that are specific to a disease or symptom. They can be utilized in clinical practice for remote disease monitoring, screening for diseases, or in clinical research as secondary endpoints to evaluate the efficacy of a treatment or intervention. They can also be used during enhanced consultations to screen for diseases or monitor the progression of a chronic disease, in services to identify at-risk patients, and at home to track patients' symptoms and general health status between consultations. Despite the potential of VB and many progresses, few have reached the stage of use in clinical routine. At LIH, the Deep Digital Phenotyping research lab gained experience in the voice-related research field since 2019, with the implementation of methodological tools to collect and pre-process voice recordings, and with the development of vocal biomarker candidates in several therapeutic domains or symptoms (Type 2 diabetes, fatigue, COVID-19 and Long COVID, respiratory health, mental health, etc.) VB is an early-stage research topic; one needs to accelerate the development, validation and integration of vocal biomarkers for personalized medicine and innovative tools - both for clinical practice and remote patient monitoring. Until now, VB candidates have been developed disease by disease, and there is a lack of data on the influence of concomitant diseases on voice signatures. Therefore, the next vital step to improve vocal biomarkers and assess their specificity is to compare them with both control groups, those without the disease, and those with other diseases. The study is a cohort of adult people attending one of the hospitals in Luxembourg, either for an hospitalization, a consultation, or a simple visit, regardless of their health conditions. Study will be conducted in French, English, German, and Portuguese which are the most frequent languages in Luxembourg. Study participants will be followed up over a 5 years period of time, with on-site study visits in study booths installed in the different hospitals in Luxembourg and at-home monitoring in-between visits, using a smartphone app to collect study data. During both study visits and at-home monitoring voice recordings will be collected together with health data. This will allow to understand how voice evolves with time in a given individual, and to identify VB specific to diseases like diabetes, or to symptoms common to several chronic diseases like fatigue or mental health problems.

The ColoPan study evaluates the scientific validity, reproducibility, and predictive performance of the Personalised Functional Profiling (PFP) platform in colorectal cancer and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma patients. It combines genomic sequencing with in vitro functional drug testing using patient-derived spheroids/organoids.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and treatment success often depends on proper inhaler use and consistent medication adherence. Exposure to allergens and pollutants can also impact treatment response and asthma control. Moreover, there is a growing need for non-invasive biomarkers to support better diagnosis and personalized care. The goal of this clinical trial is to investigate if a new digital inhaler can improve inhalation technique and treatment adherence in children aged 5 to 16 years old, with partly controlled or uncontrolled asthma requiring treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does the use of a digital inhaler improve adherence to inhaled corticosteroids and asthma control in children? * Which biomarkers could support diagnosis and help predict treatment responses in children with asthma? * How do environmental factors influence asthma control and treatment outcomes? Researchers will compare adherence to inhaled corticosteroid therapy between children using a new digital inhaler (Whizz spacer) and those using a standard, non-digital inhaler (AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu®) to see if the digital inhaler improves treatment administration and asthma control. They will quantify inflammatory markers in biological samples from asthmatic children and children without respiratory disease, to find biomarkers linked to disease and treatment response. Participants will: * Use the Whizz spacer or the AeroChamber Plus® Flow-Vu® during 12 weeks for corticosteroid inhalation, and complete daily a study diary to follow treatment administration. * Complete asthma control and quality of life questionnaires and have an evaluation of asthma control through GINA score at baseline, 6 and 12 weeks. * Undergo spirometry tests and FENO measurements at baseline and 12 weeks. * Give biological samples at baseline and 12 weeks. * Collect children's bedroom dust samples at baseline. * Wear a bracelet for 7 days at baseline and 12 weeks to monitor physical activity.

Tick bites can transmit pathogens, but they can also induce a food allergy to mammalian meat. The goal of this clinical trial is to follow immune response and antibody build-up in individuals bitten by a tick. Participants are invited to enroll within 48 hours after the tick removal and donate some blood. The tick is also collected and analysed. Researchers will then try to answer the following questions: * Was the tick infected with parasites? * Did the participant make antibodies against tick proteins or tick-borne parasites? * Did the participant develop IgE antibodies against the alpha-Gal sugar? The alpha-Gal sugar is present on mammalian meat, and ticks can transmit the alpha-Gal sugar to the host during their blood meal. Humans recognize the alpha-Gal sugar as foreign and some individuals will build IgE antibodies in response. These IgE antibodies against alpha-Gal can lead to a food allergy to red meat, also known as alpha-Gal syndrome. Researchers will compare a group of participants that develop IgE against the alpha-Gal sugar with participants that will not. They want to find out if there are specific immune features that differentiate the 2 groups. Participants will: * Enroll after a recent tick bite within 48 hours after tick removal: they will be asked to donate some blood and fill out a questionnaire. * Visit the clinic 4 to 6 weeks later for a follow-up sample and questionnaire. * Visit the clinic 3 months after the tick bite for allergy tests if they have been selected for this 3rd visit.

The CoLive Voice research project aims to identify vocal biomarkers of severe conditions and frequent health symptoms. The project is based on digital technologies and statistical algorithms. This is an international anonymous survey where vocal recordings are collected simultaneously with large validated clinical and epidemiological data, in the context of various chronic diseases or frequent health symptoms in the general population.

The Clinnova-Multiple Sclerosis (MS) study is part of the Clinnova program (NCT06526364; NCT06235684 and NCT05733702), which seeks to advance precision medicine and the digitalization of healthcare through high-quality, interoperable health data. This program focuses on people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and aims to identify objective surrogate markers derived from clinical, epidemiological, imaging, and omics data that can predict disease activity, such as progression or relapses. By combining data science and artificial intelligence, the project seeks to improve patient stratification, support personalized therapeutic decisions, and provide insights into the mechanisms underlying treatment response and disease progression. Although many therapies are available for MS, it remains challenging to determine the most appropriate strategy for each patient and to prevent long-term disability. Current treatments mainly target relapses and inflammation, with limited effects on chronic progression. Clinnova-MS will collect and analyze real-world and research data to better understand variability in disease activity and treatment outcomes, enabling more precise, evidence-based care within the standard of care. This study represents the first step toward the broader Clinnova objective: developing sustainable, personalized, and preventive healthcare for people living with MS.

This pilot study will focus on men and women aged ≥60 years for a period of 3 months during which each participant will use the HLRS. The primary purpose is to study whether the HLRS, reflecting a multi-component intervention, is well accepted by the participant, has a decent adherence (i.e., user time of the app). In addition, investigators will study the feasibility of the design, i.e. whether the overall design is well suited to the participants, in order to improve their lifestyle, e.g., dietary habits and PA, among others. Secondary outcomes related to the feasibility approach include dietary habits, PA patterns, and selected plasma and urinary endpoints. This pilot study will be of longitudinal design without a control group. A later trial that is planned for the following year will focus further on biological endpoints and will be randomized. In this present pilot study, investigators aim to assess mainly the user-friendliness of the HLRS, and gather first evidence that the intervention can indeed produce healthier lifestyle patterns. The study's primary objective is to determine whether the developed HLRS can be successfully applied to the target population (men and women aged ≥60 years) and whether they use it frequently during the study and are satisfied with the HLRS. Secondly, investigators will study whether the assessment of endpoints required for the later and separately planned ensuing long-term study can be well assessed within the study and if, despite the limited time of the intervention duration, the intervention will be able to preliminary improve specific markers related to the risk of obesity and associated comorbidities. This will entail anthropometric measures to assess changes in body mass and body fat in addition to the primary and secondary objectives.

The LIH DDP research team focuses its research topics on vocal biomarkers and Long COVID, among others. Voice is indeed a promising tool to monitor health, as it contains many information on our health and is easy to collect. The development of vocal biomarkers of Long COVID-related symptoms could improve the remote monitoring of the health status of people affected by this disease. The LIH developed the Long COVID Companion (LCC) app in collaboration with the ApresJ20 Long COVID patient association in France to support patients in their daily lives. LCC app users will be invited to participate in this study to collect voice recordings at the same time as health-related data. The objectives of this study are: Primary objective: To develop vocal biomarker candidates for the main Long COVID symptoms (fatigue, brain fog, respiratory problems, sleep issues, stress, anxiety,..) in a population of people with Long COVID. Secondary objectives: * to assess the intra-individual longitudinal evolution of voice characteristics of people with LC * to assess app usability and acceptability in the long-term.

This study is part of the Clinnova program. This is a prospective cohort study including patients with IBD recruited at the time of a treatment change. At least 800 participants (recruited in France, Germany and Luxembourg) will be enrolled, of which 100 participants are expected to be recruited in Luxembourg with the present study protocol. The mission of Clinnova is to support the digitalization of healthcare and precision medicine by creating a data-enabling environment for accessing, sharing and analyzing interoperable, high-quality health data. The main hypothesis is that treatment change decided by clinicians is predictable using objective surrogate markers derived from clinical, epidemiological, and omics data. Identifying these objective markers may facilitate future treatment decisions, provide new insights on the molecular causes for differential treatment response, pathogenesis and progression, and potential pointers for improved personalized therapeutic interventions.

This study is part of the Clinnova program. This is a prospective cohort study including patients with RD recruited at the time of a treatment change. At least 800 participants (recruited in France, Germany and Luxembourg) will be enrolled, of which 100 participants are expected to be recruited in Luxembourg with the present study protocol. The mission of Clinnova is to support the digitalization of healthcare and precision medicine by creating a data-enabling environment for accessing, sharing and analyzing interoperable, high-quality health data. The main hypothesis is that treatment change decided by clinicians is predictable using objective surrogate markers derived from clinical, epidemiological, and omics data. Identifying these objective markers may facilitate future treatment decisions, provide new insights on the molecular causes for differential treatment response, pathogenesis and progression, and potential pointers for improved personalized therapeutic interventions.

The main purpose of this project is to investigate the influence of cushioning material at both the rear and the forepart of running shoes on musculoskeletal complaints in leisure-time runners. Therefore, the objectives are to investigate if 1. "Extra soft" cushioning materials can reduce injury risk compared to stiffer materials; 2. Cushioning under the forepart of the shoe also influences injury risk, independently of the cushioning at the rear part; 3. Effects of cushioning material and position depend on the runner's body mass; 4. Perception of cushioning is related to both shoe cushioning and injury risk; 5. Other weight-bearing locomotion activities (i.e., number of steps per day besides running practice) represents an independent risk factor for running-related injury. This study consists in a 6-month intervention trial during which leisure-time runners are required to follow their usual training schedule. Before the beginning of the study, the participants will receive a pair of running shoes. The three running shoe models will be exactly the same, except for their foam properties at the rear and forepart of the shoe, which will differ by 33 and 37%, respectively. The study shoes will be administered through random allocation. The participants will be required to use these shoes for all running sessions, and only for running activities. Participants will first fill out a baseline questionnaire. During the intervention, data on running practice will be downloaded from sports watches via their respective app. Information on the use of the study shoes will be collected via a weekly questionnaire. Participants will be asked to fill out a weekly questionnaire on any musculoskeletal complaints experienced during the past 7 days. A questionnaire on the perception of cushioning will be filled in by the participants at three time points (after 5h of running, 25h of running, and at the end of follow-up). Primary hypothesis: \- Greater shock absorption properties at the rear part of running shoes are associated with a lower injury risk in recreational runners. Secondary hypothesis: * Greater shock absorption properties under the forepart of the shoe are also associated with lower injury risk in recreational runners. * Runners with low body mass experience a lower injury risk in shoes with greater shock absorption properties. * Greater perceived cushioning is related to lower injury risk.

The Luxembourg Parkinson's Study is an ongoing longitudinal nationwide monocentric observational study. It collects extensive clinical, molecular, genetic, and digital device-based longitudinal data, as well as foreseen post-mortem diagnostic validation (Hipp et al., 2018). The cohort consists of more than 1,600 participants from Luxembourg and the Greater Region, comprising patients with typical PD or atypical parkinsonism - irrespective of disease stage, age, cognitive status, comorbidities, or linguistic background - followed-up annually and age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects followed-up every 4 years. To provide a large, longitudinally followed, and deeply phenotyped set of patients and controls for clinical and fundamental research on PD, the investigators have implemented an open-source digital platform that has been partly harmonized with other international PD cohort studies. This effort is flanked by comprehensive biosampling efforts assuring high quality and sustained availability of body liquids and tissue biopsies (including blood, urine, stool, saliva, hair, skin biopsy and cerebrospinal fluid). All data and samples are stored, curated, and integrated into state-of-the-art data and biobank facilities.

The main purpose of this project is to promote physical activity in patients with osteoarthritis. More specifically, this study aims to test the acceptability of an app to promote physical activity in the target population, and consequently the feasibility of such an approach. A mobile phone application - namely PIANISSIMO - will be developed specifically for this project. It aims to spread knowledge on the benefits of physical activity and collect data on how this knowledge can induce behavior changes toward a more physically active lifestyle. The intervention is delivered via the app, which will send daily notifications on physical activity and sedentary behavior, and ask the participants to set their weekly goal (i.e., daily steps). The app will also collect daily steps count and ask the participant to fill in questionnaire on pain once a week.