TOMOWAVE LABORATORIES, INC. — Department of Health and Human Services SBIR Phase I: NICHD

Description

Point of care monitoring of feto placental oxygen uptake SummaryAbstract TheGreat Obstetrical syndromesare the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality world wideDespite the factthat the origin of these syndromes is associated with pathology of deep placentation and abnormal vascular remodelingthere are no toolsallowing early point of care diagnosisprior to maternal pregnancy complication become evident and pathophysiological cascade of events developsPathology of deep placentation leads to abnormal blood flow in materno fetal unit and to inefficient oxygen exchange between maternal and fetal circulationswhich could be measured as uterine arterio venous oxygen ratioAVORThe optoacoustic imaging technology would potentially allow measuring AVOR with unprecedented accuracy during the window of opportunity for early interventionWhile the first clinical application of optoacoustic tomography enabled functional imagingmany burdens remain to be removedThe accuracy of quantitative informationcontrast and resolution and image artifacts and video rate of blood content and its oxygen saturation are still not sufficient for usage at the patientandapos s bedsideHowever recent breakthroughs in the system components give solid basis for development of a compactrobust and inexpensive functional imaging technologyThusbased on pathophysiological relevance of uterine arterio venous oxygen ratioAVORin pregnancy complication and the progress in the optoacoustic biophysical methodswe propose to develop the first clinical prototype system of a novel hybrid laser optoacoustic ultrasonic medical deviceMDfor noninvasive evaluation of spatially resolved maps of blood flow and its oxygen content in uterine venous and arterial vascular treesAVOR MDThus Aimof the proposed study is to develop a compactrobust and accurate functional system for monitoring differences in veno arterial blood oxygenationAimis to perform feasibility testing of the developed system and method initially in phantoms and then in ex vivo studies of blood perfused placentaIn the Phase I of the SBIR project we will develop the system specificationsfabricate the dual modality optoacoustic ultrasonic probeimprove speed and quantitative accuracy of functional imaging and demonstrate feasibility of our approach in ex vivo blood perfused organsincluding human placentaThe team of investigators has a uniqueyears combined experience in obstetrics and gynecologyplacental biology and biophysicsThe successful completion of this proposal will allow simplerapid diagnosis of life threatening pregnancy complications prior to the development of clinical syndromesmoreoverthe proposed equipment could be used in neonatal careProject titlePoint of care monitoring of feto placental oxygen uptake NARRATIVE Great obstetrical syndromesleading cause of maternal and newborn mortalityare associated with abnormal blood flow in materno fetal unit and inefficient oxygen exchange between maternal and fetal circulationmeasured as uterine arterio venous ratioThe optoacoustic imaging technology represents a unique opportunity to measure this important parameter with unprecedented accuracy during the window of opportunity for early interventionThe goal of the proposed project is to develop the first clinical prototype system of a novel imaging system for point of care monitoring pathology of deep placentation