A SYSTEM FOR MEASURING CAPILLARY BLOOD FLOW AND ORGAN PERFUSION USING DOPPLER ULTRASOUND AIDED BY CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT

WHILE THE ARTERIES AND VEINS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE TRANSPORT OF NUTRIENTS, METABOLIC WASTES, AND OTHER COMPONENTS, MUCH OF THE FUNCTION OF THE BLOOD TAKES PLACE INTHE CAPILLARIES. EVALUATING THE CHARACTERISTICALLY SLOW, INTRICATE BLOOD FLOW FOUND IN THE CAPILLARY BEDS, THEREFORE,IS A PROBLEM OF GREAT CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE. PHYSIOLOGICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL DIFFICULTIES IN MEASURING THE COMPLEX MICROCIRCULATION, HOWEVER, HAVE LARGELY PREVENTED SYSTEMATICUSE OF THIS VALUABLE INFORMATION. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS INVESTIGATION IS TO DEVELOP A SAFE, NONINVASIVE METHOD OF MEASURING CAPILLARY BLOOD FLOW AND ORGAN PERFUSION USING A MODIFIED DOPPLER ULTRASOUND TECHNIQUE AIDED BY CONTRAST ENHANCEMENT. THE PROPOSED TECHNIQUE IS SIGNIFICANTLY SUPERIOR TO EXISTING METHODS, IN THAT IT EXHIBITS THE HIGH RESOLUTION NECESSARY TO MEASURE SLOW FLOWS, AND THE HIGH SENSITIVITY NEEDED FOR USE IN DEEP INTERNAL TISSUES. PHASE I RESEARCH WILL INCLUDE PROOF-OF-CONCEPT AND HARDWARE DESIGN, BASED ON DATA OBTAINED FROM EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION IN TISSUE MODELS. IN PHASE II A STANDARD DESIGN FOR PRODUCTION WILL BE FINALIZED, AND IN VIVO TESTING WILL BE CONDUCTED. IN PHASE III, PRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS OF THE SYSTEM IN THE CLINICAL ENVIRONMENT WILL BE UNDERTAKEN.