Proof of concept of a clinical diagnostic tool for the intravascular assessment of arterial lesions in the equine pulmonary artery.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Approximately 80% of all racehorses can be expected to develop Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Haemorrhage (EIPH) during their career. The diagnosis and treatment of EIPH is estimated to exceed $100 million annually in the United States alone. Currently there are no diagnostic strategies or technologies available for the detection or treatment of this debilitating and costly pathology. Current research by the author and collaborators has indicated a link between this pathology and calcification of the pulmonary artery of affected horses. Not surprisingly, arterial calcification is the most important cause of vascular stiffness in humans. This proposal aims to investigate the feasibility of adapting a novel catheter instrumentation technology, developed by Transonic Scisense, London, ON to identify this pathology. It is expected that Transonic Scisense's technology will be able to register a difference between healthy arterial tissue and the calcified tissue. It is the goal of this project to attempt to use the Transonic Scisense technology for both the early detection and subsequent monitoring of arterial calcification in the equine pulmonary artery. The technical challenges to be addressed by this proposal are: 1) The adaptation of the Transonic Scisense technology for a never-tried application. 2) Development of a minimally invasive surgical protocol that will accurately deliver the Transonic Scisense catheter to the equine pulmonary artery. This project will link an active cardiovascular research group with expertise in arterial biomechanics, modeling and testing, medical tool design and development, clinical treatment and surgical expertise with an industrial collaborator with novel instrumentation technology, design experience, prototyping and manufacturing facilities. It is expected that successful completion of the project will lead to future collaboration with the goal of introducing clinical diagnostic therapies and products for the market.