October 2024 Newsletter
October 2024 Newsletter
Sponsored Research
Tell me about the grant you received.
We received an R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The project is titled: “4D virtual Catheter (4D vCath) for multi-factorial hemodynamics in pulmonary hypertension.” This will fund our work over the next five years as a prospective multi-center longitudinal study.
Our study team includes:
Principal Investigator: Mohammed S.M. Elbaz, PhD (Northwestern)
Co-Investigators: from Northwestern: Benjamin Freed, Bradley Allen, Yasmin Raza, Daniel Lee, Michael Markl and Ann Ragin (Northwestern); from Mayo Clinic: Christopher Francois, Robert Frantz (Mayo Clinic); and from UT Southwestern: Kara Goss, Fernando Kay (UT Southwestern).
What are the aims of the project?
The way we see it, there are currently gaps in diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). It is a life-threatening condition that significantly increases mortality rates. Diagnosing PH, particularly Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), can take two to four years, during which patients undergo inconclusive and costly tests before resorting to invasive right-heart catheterization. These delays in diagnosis prevent early treatments, worsening patient outcomes and limiting care for vulnerable populations.
Our solution is to work on developing the Four-dimensional (4D) Right-Heart Virtual Catheter (4D RH vCath), a non-invasive tool that uses advanced mathematical modeling and fluid dynamics with cutting-edge MRI imaging (4D Flow MRI) and to assess array of right heart hemodynamics and function. Our technology not only noninvasively replicates the hemodynamic measurements of invasive catheterization but extends it by deriving novel, personalized markers of disease that cannot be obtained through invasive procedures. This technology will enable precise and personalized PH diagnosis, classification to its various types, and enable personalized severity assessment—all in under two minutes processing from a single MRI scan.
Project Aims:
This technology offers the potential for unprecedented non-invasive hemodynamic insights, reducing the need for invasive procedures while providing novel, comprehensive markers for improved disease assessment and management.
What are your next steps?
Our immediate focus is finalizing the development and validation of the 4D RH vCath. We are gearing up to begin patient enrollment and scanning at Northwestern, Mayo Clinic, and UT Southwestern. This will allow us to start evaluating the tool’s diagnostic and prognostic accuracy in clinical settings.
What do you hope will come out of this funded research?
We envision our 4D RH vCath technology transforming the diagnosis and management of pulmonary hypertension. By offering a non-invasive, rapid tool that provides multi-parametric hemodynamics in under 2 minutes, clinicians will be able to diagnose PH, classify its types, and assess severity earlier and more precisely.
Beyond replicating invasive catheter measurements, our noninvasive 4D vCath technology will deliver new personalized hemodynamic markers that cannot be derived by current invasive catheterization, enabling more tailored treatments and improved outcomes for patients. By eliminating the need for multiple tests and invasive procedures, this technology will expand access to timely care, reduce patient burden, and ultimately improve survival and quality of life for those suffering from PH. Thus, technology has the potential to dramatically change the standard of care by offering clinicians personalized, precise, non-invasive hemodynamic data for diagnosing, classifying and prognosing PH and PAH with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
The full NIH Project Summary can be found here.
