$2M NIH award spurs development of advanced ultrasound technique
The National Insitutes of Health is awarding researchers in Texas a grant to further the development of new advanced imaging techniques.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have received a grant worth around $1.7 million from the NIH. The funds are set to fuel a four-year project, furthering development of ultrasound technology that improves the visualization of blood vessels deep in the body. The technology could have industrial uses as well, according to an announcement from the university.
“There’s always something making your image become blurred,” research leader Baohong Yuan, PhD, a bioengineering professor at Texas, said in the press release. “We always think about new ways to overcome this limit.”
The team’s work is investigating how ultrasound can be combined with light and nanoparticles to give providers detailed visualization of blood vessels. They are testing how light outside of the body directed at the nanoparticles can create a glowing effect in an area where ultrasound is applied. The ultrasound probe can be moved around to track the glowing particles, offering different views of a specified area.
The imaging acquired from these exams is then entered into a computer program that will organize the data into 3D maps of the area of interest. The goal is to create high resolution 3D images that offer detailed insight into vascular anatomy.
“Our technological goal is trying to push the limit of resolution as high as possible to be able to see structure as clear as possible in deep tissue,” Yuan added.
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In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.