Clinical trials

A two-arm, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study investigating the efficacy of a probiotic preparation developed as supportive supplementation of probiotics in patients with reflux. The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effect of the probiotic dietary supplement on the diversity and composition of the gut microbiome in patients diagnosed with GERD who are on PPI therapy. The study will also monitor changes in the oral microbiome and the impact of probiotic supplementation on patient quality of life and GERD symptoms. Patients will take the probiotic preparation, 2 tablets twice daily (morning before meals and evening after meals). The experimental phase will last 6 weeks. Patients in the control arm will receive placebo. Supplementation will be discontinued if adverse effects occur. Oral and rectal swabs will be taken before and after administration of the preparation. Patients will monitor their symptoms using a questionnaire.

A randomized prospective study comparing the evaluation of mammography images in a breast cancer screening programme by a single radiologist with AI support versus standard double reading by two radiologists without AI support.

The study titled "The Use of Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) in Pulmonary Diseases" investigates the impact of using EIT as a non-invasive method to monitor the distribution of pulmonary ventilation and its relationship to standard spirometry in patients with various lung diseases. The main aim of this study is to investigate new approaches to the assessment of lung status and diagnosis of lung diseases. Unlike spirometry, which has long been a well-known and important diagnostic tool in pulmonary medicine, and which provides valuable information about the volume and flow of inspired and expired air, EIT provides spatial information about the distribution of ventilation in real time and without the need for active patient cooperation. Research and practice have shown that spirometry is problematic in specific groups of patients, such as patients with tracheostomy or facial palsy. The technology should also enable detection of the disease in its early stages, when treatment is most effective. 300 participants in the experimental group and 100 participants in the control group will receive spirometry and electrical impedance tomography independent examination. The primary endpoint of the study is to investigate the potential of EIT in respiratory medicine, specifically identifying the relationship between EIT and traditional spirometry. This effort is motivated by the need for novel noninvasive methods for the diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory diseases, especially in patients unable to undergo conventional spirometry, or in case of interventions requiring real-time feedback. The purpose of the research project in relation to these objectives is to bring new possibilities in the field of diagnosis and monitoring of lung diseases through EIT, which could lead to significant improvements in patient care. Demographic and anthropometric data, including age, sex, body height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), chest circumference, and smoking history will be collected in all participants. These parameters will be used as covariates in the analysis to assess their impact on EIT-derived indicators and to improve normalization of EIT signals. Additionally, the study aims to develop and validate a machine learning model, particularly a deep neural network, capable of predicting standard spirometric parameters (e.g., FEV1, FVC, PEF) based solely on EIT signals. This could allow for an accurate assessment of dynamic pulmonary volumes in cooperating patients who are unable to undergo conventional spirometry (e.g. patients with tracheostomy).

This study aims to develop accessible methods for the early detection of selected neuropathologies in drivers, focusing on multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. The primary objective is to identify clinical tests that correlate with outcomes from the Vienna Test System (VTS), thereby enabling early diagnosis without the need for complex neurological or neuropsychological assessments. Findings could improve the effectiveness of routine driver medical check-ups and inform future modifications to Czech traffic law to enhance road safety.

Diagnosis of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is challenging because the yield of imaging and tissue sampling is limited. Raman spectroscopy is an optical method based on the analysis of scattered monochromatic light. Raman spectroscopy is able to provide a molecular 'fingerprint' of the tissue to determine its type. The aim of this pilot study was to develop a methodology for in vivo Raman spectroscopy in bile ducts to improve the current diagnostic capabilities of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.

The study titled " The effectiveness of telemedicine monitoring prehabilitation in prostate cancer patients undergoing radical prostatectomy " investigates the impact of a structured telemedicine-supported prehabilitation and rehabilitation program on reducing postoperative urinary incontinence in patients with localized prostate cancer. Radical prostatectomy, a common treatment for localized prostate cancer, is often associated with complications such as urinary incontinence, which significantly affects quality of life. This study aims to address this issue by enhancing patients' physical conditioning and adherence to pre- and postoperative rehabilitation through the use of wearable devices and remote physiotherapy consultations.

Hypoxia occurs in about 80% of head and neck tumors. Based on experimental and clinical data, hypoxia is a useful parameter for pretherapeutic stratification. These radioresistant regions can be detected with FMISO PET/CT. Moreover, hypoxic subvolumes of tumors can be evolving as target volumes for radiotherapy ("dose painting") in hypoxia imaging-based dose escalation.

Background: Large vessel carotid stenosis represent significant cause of ischaemic stroke. Indication for surgical revascularisation treatment relies on severity stenosis and clinical symptoms. Mild clinical symptoms such as transient ischemic attack, amaurosis fugax or minor stroke preceded large strokes in only 15% of cases. Aim: The aim of this prospective study is to evaluate whether retinal perfusion is impacted in significant carotid stenosis. Automated retinal oximetry could be used to better evaluate perfusion in post-stenotic basin. The investigators presume the more stenotic blood vessel, the more reduced retinal perfusion is resulting in adaptive changes such as higher arteriovenous saturation difference due to greater oxygen extraction. This could help broaden the indication spectrum for revascularisation treatment for carotid stenosis. Methods: The investigators plan to enroll 50 patients a year with significant carotid stenosis and cross-examine them with retinal oximetry. Study group will provide both stenotic vessels and non-stenotic vessels forming the control group. Patients with significant carotid stenosis will undergo an MRI examination to determine the presence of asymptomatic recent ischaemic lesions in the stenotic basin, and the correlation to oximetry parameters. Statistics: Correlation between the severity of stenosis and retinal oximetry parameters will be compared to the control group of non-stenotic sides with threshold of 70%, respectively 80% and 90% stenosis. Data will be statistically evaluated at the 5% level of statistical significance. Results will be then reevaluated with emphasis on MRI findings in the carotid basin. Conclusion: This prospective case control study protocol wil be used to launch a trial assessing the relationship between significant carotid stenosis and retinal perfusion measured via automated retinal oximetry.

The goal of this multicenter, observational, analytic, randomized clinical trial is to analyze the laparoscopic and robot-assisted method in the surgical treatment of patients with adrenal diseases. The main question it aims to answer are: 1. to find the superiority of one the the surgical method mentioned above 2. to compare the quality of life in patients with adrenal mass before surgery and after laparoscopic or robotic-assisted adrenalectomy.

More than 80% of ischemic stroke (IS) patients have some walking disability, which restricts their independence in the activities of daily living. Physical therapy (PT) significantly contributes to gait recovery in patients after IS. However, it remains unclear, what type of gait training is more effective and which factors may have impact on gait recovery. Two hundred fifty IS patients will be enrolled to undergo a 2-week intensive inpatient rehabilitation including randomly assigned robot-assisted treadmill gait training (RTGT) or therapist-assisted treadmill gait training (TTGT). A detailed clinical and laboratory assessment of gait quality, as well as the degree of neurological impairment, quality of life, cognition and depression will be performed in all patients during the study. We hypothesize that these variables may also affect gait recovery in patients after IS. In a randomly selected 60 enrolled patients, a multi-modal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), including functional MRI, will be performed to assess neural correlates and additional predictors of gait recovery.