Ultrasound‑tagged brain blood flow monitoring
Official title: Ultrasonic-tagged remote interferometric flowmetry for brain activity
Funded at Hunter College · NIH-11163231 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Using ultrasound‑tagged light to noninvasively track brain blood flow for people with cerebrovascular conditions or those needing bedside monitoring.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Hunter College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $196,250 |
| NIH project number | 5R21EY035400-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11163231 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with cerebrovascular disease, suspected stroke, or patients in neurocritical care who need close bedside cerebral blood flow monitoring would be the most relevant candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without brain blood flow concerns or those seeking immediate treatment benefit should note this is an early technology‑development project and may not provide direct clinical benefit to participants.
What this research studies
They are developing a new bedside brain monitor that combines ultrasound tagging with optical interferometry to measure blood flow deeper in the brain. URIF (ultrasonic‑tagged remote interferometric flowmetry) uses focused ultrasound to mark moving blood and detects the resulting changes in coherent light to separate cerebral signals from scalp contamination. The team will build the device, validate it in lab models, and move to human‑compatible measurements to compare it against existing optical methods. The goal is a portable, low‑cost, noninvasive tool for monitoring cerebrovascular health, stroke care, and brain perfusion in intensive care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could enable more sensitive and selective bedside monitoring of cerebral blood flow, helping detect and manage stroke, neurocritical perfusion problems, and cerebrovascular changes in aging.
How similar studies have gone: Related optical blood‑flow methods (diffuse correlation spectroscopy, laser speckle) have shown promise but suffer from scalp contamination, and URIF is a novel approach that has not yet been proven in humans.
Where this research is happening
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Hunter College
New York, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xu, Min — Hunter College
- Study coordinator: Xu, Min
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.