A portable photoacoustic device to help diagnose vascular diseases
Official title: A portable photoacoustic imager for diagnosing vascular diseases
Funded at Pennsylvania State University, the · NIH-11393173 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A small, battery-powered imaging tool uses light and sound to help detect blood vessel problems at the point of care without harming patients.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State University, the NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (University Park, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2020 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $1 |
| NIH project number | 5R33EB030370-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11393173 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults at risk for or diagnosed with vascular diseases who would benefit from non-invasive, rapid vascular imaging at the point of care.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with conditions not related to vascular health or those requiring other imaging modalities may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project aims to create a mobile photoacoustic imager that can be used in clinics or in low-resource settings to look at blood vessels non-invasively. It combines light and ultrasound to give information about blood oxygen, clots, and lipids in deep vessels without dyes. By making the device portable and easy to use, it could support earlier detection and monitoring of vascular diseases in adults, including those with diabetes. The approach focuses on delivering real-time, label-free data to clinicians at the bedside.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients could get faster, non-invasive vascular assessments at their point of care, potentially leading to earlier treatment decisions.
How similar studies have gone: Previous methods have limitations; this project introduces a portable approach that could offer richer vascular information in real time.
Where this research is happening
-
Pennsylvania State University, the
University Park, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kothapalli, Sri Rajasekhar — Pennsylvania State University, the
- Study coordinator: Kothapalli, Sri Rajasekhar
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Topical HIF-1 inhibitors to treat retinal and choroidal vascular diseases
A Johns Hopkins team is testing eye drops that block HIF-1 to help people with retinal and choroidal blood vessel problems respond better to treatment.
-
Mitochondrial function and retinal blood vessel disease
This grant explores how tiny power plants inside cells (mitochondria) influence the growth of retinal blood vessels in conditions like age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease, with the goal of finding new paths to protect vision.
-
How blood vessel and immune cell metabolism shapes artery disease
This project looks at how changes in energy use inside artery-lining cells, artery muscle cells, and immune cells affect people with atherosclerosis.
-
Handheld light-and-sound scanner for blood vessel problems
A portable device that uses safe light-plus-ultrasound imaging to find and monitor blood vessel problems for people with conditions like diabetes or peripheral artery disease.
-
How mitochondria affect retinal blood vessel health
This project looks at whether problems in mitochondria change how blood vessels grow in the retina, which matters to people with conditions like diabetic retinopathy or other retinal blood-vessel diseases.
-
Eye drops that block HIF-1 for wet macular degeneration and choroidal neovascularization
Trying an eye drop that blocks HIF‑1 to reduce abnormal blood vessel growth in people with wet age-related macular degeneration.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.