2011 Omneuron Study

Omneuron, a life sciences company, is currently investigating the differences between the brain activity of healthy individuals & those with chronic pain conditions utilizing novel MRI technologies in this new NIH funded clinical research trial.

We are seeking Healthy Participants and individuals diagnosed with Chronic Pain Conditions to participate in this paid fMRI study on brain activity. By participating you will contribute to the scientific advancement of new techniques to identify and target treatments for individuals with chronic pain conditions.

We are looking for chronic pain and healthy participants to complete a 3-5 visit functional MRI research study, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Participation would involve attending visits about 2 hours long at our office in Menlo Park where you would complete paperwork, complete an MRI scan, or a standard medical physical exam at separate visits. Compensation (must be a US citizen or legal resident w/green card) is $10h for travel and time spent completing forms, $25h for time spent in the MRI scanner. There are no drugs or contrast dyes involved in this study.

An eligibility criterion includes:

- No metal piercings or implants that can’t be removed (dental work is OK)

- Good vision or correction with contact lenses

- Weight under approximately 220 lbs.

- No history of chronic pain for healthy participants

- History of chronic pain for 6 months of longer for chronic pain participants

- No psychiatric illness: such as major depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar, PTSD, ocd, etc. You are eligible if a depression or anxiety diagnosis is related to a chronic pain condition.

- No history of traumatic brain injury or stroke

- No neurological conditions such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, etc.

- No facial tattoos

- No claustrophobia

- 21-65 years old

- Able to attend multiple MRI scan sessions in Menlo Park, CA

- Interest in participating in brain activity research

Click Here for the secure online Eligibility Screening

Questions? Please email research@omneuron.com. More information about Omneuron can be found at www.omneuron.com

Study Details

Time Commitment:

We will ask that you visit our office in Menlo Park, CA up to 10 times for this study. These sessions will be about 1-2 times per week over about 1 to 1.5 months. Each session will take about 2 hours to complete. Some sessions will include filling out questionnaires only, some will involve getting an MRI or eeg and some may involve clinical assessments or task training. We want to allow enough time to answer any questions you have so that your whole time here is more interesting and comfortable.

Generally, consent and assessments occur M-F 10-7pm and scanning appointments will take place between 3:30pm to 9pm on weekdays, and weekend times may also be available for either type of visit. We will try to work with you to schedule the best appointment times for you. Your participation in this study is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time.

Benefits:

We cannot promise any clinical benefit to you from undergoing this procedure. Some patients have experienced decreases in their pain, but this is an investigational procedure so you should not presume that you would experience an improvement, and your pain could worsen. We do believe that the experience of undergoing an MRI and learning about these new techniques is interesting and enlightening. Additionally, you will be contributing to the research process of potentially developing a future treatment for chronic pain. For your time and inconvenience, you will be paid $25/hour for the MRI portions of the study and $10/hour for all other times related to the study.

Risks:

We are very concerned about your safety and for this reason, we will ask you questions designed to assess whether you can safely and comfortably participate in this study. The MRI scanner uses a very powerful magnet that will forcefully attract certain metals. We will ask you detailed questions about whether you have any non-removable metal in your body which might be attracted to the magnet and thus put you at risk. If there is any uncertainty, we might ask you to obtain additional information from your physician as a precondition for participation in our study. We cannot talk to your physician unless we have your permission. If you have a fear of enclosed places or pain that might prevent you from laying flat for an hour, we may also ask you not to participate in this study.

(If Female) If you are pregnant or expecting to become pregnant we will ask that you not participate in this study because the effects of MRI on a fetus are unknown. If you are of child-bearing age, we will ask you to take a pregnancy test at the beginning of the study and use approved birth control methods throughout the study.

We will use the screening information obtained in this interview only to determine whether you are able to participate in our study and will otherwise keep all records confidential. Please realize that if you choose to participate in the study, you may discontinue the scan at anytime.

We also need to ask you questions about your health in general, and about any potential brain disorders such as learning disabilities, stroke or related risk factors, or severe mental illness. As with the safety questions, this information will be used only to decide whether you are appropriate for our studies and will be kept confidential.