Post Traumatic Stress DisorderNCT06294106
eTMS for Veterans and First Responders With PTSD
A study testing Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) in people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, run by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
A battery of physiological and behavioral data will be collected before and after application of eTMS. Participants will be veterans or first responders diagnosed with PTSD. Study will be a double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group, randomized clinical trial. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- What is being tested?
- Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 10 Jun 2024to Sep 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Veteran or first responder
- diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with PCL-5 cutoff of 31 or above
Who cannot join
- Claustrophobia
- Contraindications to MRI
- Pregnant
- Uncontrolled medical, psychological, or neurological conditions
- Unable to calculate EEG alpha frequency
- History of ECT or rTMS
Show all 12Show fewer
- History of intracranial lesion or increased intracranial pressure
- History of stroke
- History of other neurologic conditions
- Family history of epilepsy
- Personal history of epilepsy
- certain medications
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
Roanoke, Virginia, 24016
Jessica Florig, MPH, 540-526-2261, jnw@vtc.vt.edu
Wynn Legon, PhD
About this study
Official title: Electroencephalogram (EEG) Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
A battery of physiological and behavioral data will be collected before and after application of eTMS. Participants will be veterans or first responders diagnosed with PTSD. Study will be a double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group, randomized clinical trial.
Read the detailed description
Veterans and first responders diagnosed with PTSD will be studied to evaluate safety and efficacy of an EEG personalized TMS paradigm. All participants will undergo 2 days of extensive testing prior to eTMS application and 2 days of testing after. Testing will include MRI, OPM, EEG, behavioral tasks, questionnaires, and an EEG sleep study.
- Conditions
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Being tested
- Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)
- Medical subject headings
- Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)Device
EEG is utilized to determine a personalized frequency to then apply TMS to the frontal lobe.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| eTMS | Experimental | The active side of a TMS coil will be used to administer eTMS application. Receives: Device: Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) |
| eTMS sham | Sham comparator | The sham side of a TMS coil will be used to administer a sham dosage of eTMS application. Receives: Device: Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Adverse Events
Adverse event reports (or lack-of) will determine device safety
Measured: Up to 7 weeks
Report of Symptoms
Symptom questionnaire to be completed before and after all study procedures to determine feasibility in this patient population. Various symptoms will be rated on a likert scale from absent to severe.
Measured: Up to 7 weeks
Secondary outcomes (4)
PCL-5
Completion of the PTSD symptom questionnaire. Scores range from 0-80, with a PTSD cutoff score of 31.
Measured: Up to 7 weeks
fMRI
Functional MRI signals including BOLD signals collected at rest and during basic tasks to assess neuropathways of activation
Measured: 1 session 1 week pre treatment and 1 session 1 week post treatment
OPM
Optically Pumped Magnetometry signals collected at rest and during basic tasks to assess neuropathways of activation
Measured: 1 session 1 week pre treatment and 1 session 1 week post treatment
EEG
Electroencephalography recordings at rest and during a stress task. Specifically analyzing the P300.
Measured: Up to 7 sessions collected over 7 weeks.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted5 Mar 2024
- Study start10 Jun 2024
- Primary completionJun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completionSep 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Post Traumatic Stress DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Model description
- 10 participants will receive eTMS treatment 10 participants will receive sham eTMS treatment
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Investigator
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Wave Neuroscience
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Wynn Legon, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Investigators
- Wynn Legon, PhD, Principal investigator, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06294106
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 24-212
- Status last verified
- Jun 2026
- First submitted
- 19 Feb 2024
- Last updated
- 2 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- Yes
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 2 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) Personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06294106
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- 24-212
- Conditions
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Wave Neuroscience
- Study start
- 10 Jun 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Jun 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Sep 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 5 Mar 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
A battery of physiological and behavioral data will be collected before and after application of eTMS. Participants will be veterans or first responders diagnosed with PTSD. Study will be a double-blind, sham-controlled, parallel group, randomized clinical trial.
Detailed description
Veterans and first responders diagnosed with PTSD will be studied to evaluate safety and efficacy of an EEG personalized TMS paradigm. All participants will undergo 2 days of extensive testing prior to eTMS application and 2 days of testing after. Testing will include MRI, OPM, EEG, behavioral tasks, questionnaires, and an EEG sleep study.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Basic science
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, investigator)
- Number of arms
- 2
- Model description
- 10 participants will receive eTMS treatment 10 participants will receive sham eTMS treatment
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| eTMS | Experimental | Device: Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)The active side of a TMS coil will be used to administer eTMS application. |
| eTMS sham | Sham comparator | Device: Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)The sham side of a TMS coil will be used to administer a sham dosage of eTMS application. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Veteran or first responder
- diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder with PCL-5 cutoff of 31 or above
Key exclusion criteria (12 listed)
- Claustrophobia
- Contraindications to MRI
- Pregnant
- Uncontrolled medical, psychological, or neurological conditions
- Unable to calculate EEG alpha frequency
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS)EEG is utilized to determine a personalized frequency to then apply TMS to the frontal lobe. | Device | eTMS, eTMS sham |
Primary outcome
Adverse Events
Time frame: Up to 7 weeks
Adverse event reports (or lack-of) will determine device safety
Report of Symptoms
Time frame: Up to 7 weeks
Symptom questionnaire to be completed before and after all study procedures to determine feasibility in this patient population. Various symptoms will be rated on a likert scale from absent to severe.
4 secondary outcomes
PCL-5
Time frame: Up to 7 weeks
fMRI
Time frame: 1 session 1 week pre treatment and 1 session 1 week post treatment
OPM
Time frame: 1 session 1 week pre treatment and 1 session 1 week post treatment
EEG
Time frame: Up to 7 sessions collected over 7 weeks.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 2 Jul 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Wynn Legon, PhD principal investigator
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Electroencephalogram personalized Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (eTMS) in people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, run by Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 12 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 2 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Jessica Florig, MPH (540-526-2261, jnw@vtc.vt.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Adverse Events (time frame: Up to 7 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 2 Jul 2026.