In December I announced that I had taken on the role of Co-ordinating Principal Investigator for the Liberty Trial.
Since then we have been negotiating with local ethics committees the best way to safely and scientifically prove the validity of this new therapy. Today I am thrilled to announce that, after what seems like a mountain of work, we have just been given the green light for the Liberty Trial to begin!
The Liberty Trial is a world-first clinical trial seeking to find an “outside-the-box” solution for the physical disability affecting children with cerebral palsy – the number one leading cause of physical disability in our children. Our goal is to give a meaningful percentage of children living with cerebral palsy the opportunity for normal movement, and to rid them of the painful spasticity in their muscles that causes a large part of their disability.
Gaining Ethics Approval from our Ethics Committee feels like a massive achievement in itself, but really it is just the beginning of a journey to test a new treatment for children living with spasticity.
If we are successful, it will mean a great deal to those children and their families and it could also serve as an example of a modern technological approach to disability that could have an impact across the spectrum of neurological conditions affecting mobility.
Integrating advances in technology with modern medical practice enables us to deliver a truly personalised medical solution. In this case we are utilising closed loop spinal cord stimulation technology created by biotech company Saluda Medical. This technology has recently been approved in a number of jurisdictions for use in pain management, including gaining TGA approval to be used in Australia. The Ethics Approval we received this week will enable us to now trial the technology in the management of spasticity.
Sites for the trial include The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, North Shore Private Hospital, and Queensland Children’s Hospital.
I am continuing my work as a surgeon while performing this role, so don’t hesitate to reach out any time.
I’ll keep you informed as the Liberty Trial progresses!