A real-time light scan to check if a donated liver is healthy enough for transplant
A quantitative viability metric for liver transplantation using Resonance Raman Spectroscopy
This work uses a special light-based scan during organ preservation to quickly tell transplant teams whether a donated liver is likely to work well for someone on the liver transplant waitlist.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11286824 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are waiting for a liver transplant, researchers are developing a bedside light-scan (Resonance Raman Spectroscopy) that reads chemical signals from a donated liver while it is kept on a preservation machine. They will link those signals to tissue, blood, and outcome data from experimental models and discarded organs to create a single, easy-to-read viability score. The goal is a fast, objective test teams can use in minutes to decide if a marginal or donation-after-circulatory-death (DCD) liver should be used. The team will refine and validate the score across lab experiments and real-world organ preservation setups so it is reliable for clinical use.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People listed for liver transplantation—especially those willing to accept organs from donation-after-circulatory-death or other marginal donors—would be the main beneficiaries and potential candidates for receiving organs cleared by this test.
Not a fit: People without liver disease, those not on a transplant list, or patients treated at centers that do not use machine perfusion or the scanning device would not directly benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could increase the number of usable donor livers, shorten wait times, and lower the chance of failed transplants.
How similar studies have performed: Early laboratory and animal work using spectroscopy for organ assessment has shown promise, but real-time clinical use and broad validation remain novel and unproven.
Where this research is happening
Boston, United States
- Massachusetts General Hospital — Boston, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Tessier, Shannon Noella — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Tessier, Shannon Noella
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 below.