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SeeMe: Using Automated Facial Tracking to Detect Voluntary Behavior in Brain Injury

Stony Brook University · with National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) · NCT07560631

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Opens the official ClinicalTrials.gov record, with the study team’s contacts. Bored Studies doesn’t enroll anyone.

Key facts

Compensation
Not posted. Ask the study team before screening.
Who can join
Ages 22–85 · All sexes
Healthy volunteers
Accepted
Study type
Interventional · Not applicable
Target enrollment
80
US sites recruiting
1
Study start
March 30, 2026
Record last updated
May 5, 2026

Status re-checked against ClinicalTrials.gov within the last 12 hours.

What the study is about

Objective: This prospective interventional study introduces "SeeMe," an automated, high-resolution computer vision platform designed to objectively quantify microscopic, auditory command-evoked movements in patients with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Current clinical assessments, such as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), rely on subjective human observation and often fail to detect low-amplitude motor responses, potentially misclassifying up to 25% of patients as unresponsive.

Methodology: SeeMe utilizes vector analysis, cross-correlation, and deep neural networks (DNNs) to track individual facial pores and hand movements with sub-millimeter precision (0.5 mm) and high temporal resolution (0.03s). The study will enroll a cohort of 60-80 TBI patients, alongside healthy controls and pharmacologically paralyzed subjects, to validate SeeMe's sensitivity and specificity.

Primary Goals

  • Validation: Compare SeeMe's detection of voluntary motor recovery against gold-standard clinical examinations (CRS-R).
  • Synchronization: Simultaneously record and time-lock electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocorticography (ECoG) with SeeMe-detected movements.
  • Biomarker Identification: Characterize neural signatures (specifically Beta-band oscillations) associated with the return of voluntary behavior.

Impact: By providing a real-time, objective measure of motor intention and execution, SeeMe aims to identify "Cognitive-Motor Dissociation" (CMD) earlier than current methods, facilitating more accurate prognostications and laying the framework for future closed-loop neuromodulation (e.g., Vagus Nerve Stimulation) to accelerate TBI recovery.

Being studied: SeeMe Multimodal Auditory Command Protocol

Conditions: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Patients; Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Eligibility criteria

Copied from the official record. The study team makes the final decision at screening.

Show full criteria

Group 1: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Cohort

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adults (22+) with a history of acute traumatic brain injury
  • Documented loss of consciousness with a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score less than or equal to 8 upon hospitalization
  • Clinically stable as determined by the primary neurosurgery or ICU team
  • Intact auditory pathways as confirmed by BAERs
  • Family consent for study participation

Exclusion Criteria

  • Hearing Impairment confirmed via absence of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Responses (BAERs) that would prevent the patient from hearing the auditory commands
  • No legal authorized representative (LAR) available to provide informed consent for the patients in a comatose state
  • Any other medical condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, makes participation in the study unsafe.
  • Pregnant women
  • Any previous history of traumatic brain injury
  • Any neurodegenerative disease such as dementia

Group 2: Healthy Control Cohort

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adults 22+ with no history of neurological or psychiatric disorders
  • Normal baseline neurological examination
  • Intact auditory pathways
  • Ability to provide informed consent
  • Ability to follow simple auditory commands in English

Exclusion Criteria

  • Hearing Impairment that would prevent the participant from hearing the auditory commands
  • Any previous history of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI)
  • Any neurodegenerative disease (e.g., dementia)
  • Any motor impairment (e.g., facial palsy, carpal tunnel syndrome) that would interfere with facial or hand movement tracking
  • Any other medical condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, makes participation in the study unsafe
  • Pregnant women

Group 3: Sedated/Anesthetized Cohort

Inclusion Criteria

  • Adults (22+) undergoing elective spine surgery
  • Requirement of general anesthesia and pharmacological paralysis (neuromuscular blockade) as part of the standard surgical procedure
  • Clinically stable for study procedures as determined by the anesthesia and surgical teams.
  • Intact auditory pathways
  • Ability to provide informed pre-operative consent

Exclusion Criteria

  • Hearing Impairment that would prevent the patient from hearing the auditory commands
  • Any previous history of severe traumatic brain injury
  • Any neurodegenerative disease such as dementia
  • Significant baseline facial or hand motor deficits prior to the administration of anesthesia
  • Any other medical condition that, in the judgment of the investigator, makes participation in the study unsafe
  • Pregnant women

Recruiting US locations

  • Stony Brook University Hospital

    Stony Brook, NY 11794

    Site contact: Sima Mofakham, PhD · 631-444-1278 · sima.mofakham@stonybrookmedicine.edu

Study contacts (from the official record)

  • Sima Mofakham, PhD · 631-444-1278 · sima.mofakham@stonybrookmedicine.edu
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