SIMPLIFIED MEASUREMENT OF REGIONAL FLOW

描述（申请人的描述逐字）：该项目的目标是 开发快速，低成本的方法来确定局部血流量， 哺乳动物组织，并进行更广泛的局部血流测量 研究人员可以通过低成本和节省时间的仪器获得。这 研究是基于工作假设，即分布 注射到循环流中的荧光微球可以直接计数 以确定局部血流。这项技术 将取代目前估计微球数量的间接方法， 涉及放射性或腐蚀性溶液的大量处理， 需要昂贵的供应和仪器。 压缩成像计数方法的精密度和准确度 在I期期间评价了组织中的微球。线扫描成像提供 快速流动分析，样品处理量最少，成本适中。摄影 成像是一种成本较低的替代方案，需要更多时间，但也大大简化了工作 微球计数这些仪器和方法将在组织上进行测试 样品含有多达四种不同荧光颜色的微球。的 华盛顿大学的荧光微球资源中心将 验证这些方法对公认的放射性微球 法 拟定商业应用： 这项技术将取代目前的方法估计微球的仪器，直接计数微球。潜在的市场包括目前使用荧光微球的数百个实验室和大量使用替代放射性和有色微球方法的其他研究人员。

DESCRIPTION (Applicant's Description Verbatim): The goal of this project is to develop rapid, low-cost methods for determining regional blood flow in mammalian tissues and to make regional blood flow measurements more widely accessible to researchers through lower-cost and time-saving instruments. This research is based on the working hypothesis that the distribution of fluorescent microspheres injected into circulatory flow can be directly counted in compressed-tissue samples to determine regional blood flow. This technology would replace current indirect methods that estimate numbers of microspheres, that involve extensive handling of radioactive or caustic solutions, and that require expensive supplies and instrumentation. The precision and accuracy of compression-imaging methods for counting microspheres in tissues were evaluated during Phase I. Line-scan imaging offers rapid flow analysis with minimal sample handling at moderate cost. Photographic imaging, a lower-cost alternative, takes more time, but also greatly simplifies microsphere counting. The instruments and methods will be tested on tissue samples containing microspheres of up to four different fluorescent colors. The Fluorescent Microsphere Resource Center at the University of Washington will validate these methods against the well-established radioactive microsphere method. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: This technology will replace current methods of estimating microspheres with instruments that directly count microspheres. Potential markets include the hundreds of laboratories currently using fluorescent microspheres and the large numbers of additional researchers utilizing the alternative radioactive- and colored-microsphere methods.