Award
NIH Reporter #4R33HL168779-03
5T-IV: photoacoustic needle with beacon pulse for ultrasound guided vascular access with Tool-Tip Tracking and Tissue Typing
Recipient
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
Award Amount
$333,457.00
Ceiling
$333,457.00
Awarded
August 21, 2025
Identifier
4R33HL168779-03
This award funds the development of a novel ultrasound guidance platform called '5T-IV' to improve vascular access procedures by enhancing needle tip tracking and tissue typing, aiming to increase success rates and patient safety.
Description
Vascular access is the most common medical procedure in the world, with over a billion insertions performed annually. Ultrasound-guided vascular access is increasingly utilized but still has success rate stagnant at 81% primarily due to low contrast resolution, and the unsuccessful cases can develop significant patient discomfort, decreased efficiency, increased costs, and occasionally life and limb threatening complications. To address the enormous problem, we propose a vendor-independent ‘5T (tool tip tracking + tissue typing)-IV’ guidance platform to augment the clinical US imaging guidance.