Portable heart scans with AI could help aging adults living with HIV
Official title: Portable Echo for Aging Hearts: Assessing Cardiac Health in Older Adults with HIV
Funded at Northwestern University · NIH-11556753 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A small NIH grant is testing an AI-augmented handheld heart ultrasound to detect early heart problems in older adults living with HIV in Tanzania.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Northwestern University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chicago, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2026 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $122,220 |
| NIH project number | 3R21HL184902-01S1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11556753 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults 50 years and older living with HIV in Tanzania who are part of the HIV ageing longitudinal cohort.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without access to HIV clinics or those with no cardiovascular risk would not directly benefit from this screening approach.
What this research studies
This project focuses on using portable cardiac ultrasound powered by AI to screen aging people with HIV for heart disease where access to traditional imaging is limited. It plans to enroll about 400 participants aged 50 and older from a long-term HIV cohort in Tanzania to test feasibility, utility, and potential impact of AI-assisted scans. The goal is to detect structural and functional heart issues early so that timely care can be provided in resource-constrained settings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could enable earlier detection and treatment of heart problems for older adults living with HIV, potentially reducing heart failure risk.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has shown AI-assisted ultrasound can improve detection of cardiac abnormalities in other populations, but this specific setting is novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Northwestern University
Chicago, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hawkins, Claudia a — Northwestern University
- Study coordinator: Hawkins, Claudia a
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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.