# Development of a platform to non-invasively assess microvascular endothelial dysfunction at the bedside in COVID-19 patients throughout intensive care.

> **NIH NIH R21** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $385,726

## Abstract

Abstract/Project Summary
 The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 430,000 deaths (June 2020) and generated an acute
need for point-of-care technologies to assess patients infected with SARS-COV-2. Endothelial dysfunction is a
common complication of COVID-19, leading to strokes, acute coronary syndrome, and thrombotic events.
These sequelae are mediated by decreased microvascular function. Microvascular dysfunction is a common
pathway to end organ injury in a variety of pathophysiologies, including acute respiratory distress syndrome
(ARDS) and sepsis. Currently, ~35-62% of COVID-19 patients with ARDS who receive respiratory support do
not survive.
Microvascular function is not routinely assessed during critical care. Thus, understanding of injury
mechanisms and development of potential therapeutics are limited by a critical gap in knowledge due to
inadequate methods. Our team has recently carried out a pilot study to assess microvascular health in COVID-
19 patients, demonstrating the feasibility of this technique under highly demanding clinical conditions. In Aim 1
of this project, we will develop and test a platform combining state-of-the-art near-infrared and diffuse
correlation spectroscopies into an integrated remotely controlled system to monitor microvascular blood
volume, oxygen saturation, and flow during vascular occlusion. This comprehensive data set, not possible to
obtain with current commercial devices, will enable the separation between deficiencies in oxygen delivery and
oxygen utilization. In Aim 2, we will demonstrate the usability of our platform during critical care under
infection-control precautions in ARDS patients with and without COVID-19. This non-invasive assessment of
microvascular health will allow serial monitoring of patients, enabling assessment of the efficacy of
interventions and disease progression. Such a device can readily be translated to other diagnoses: any
disease or trauma which causes microvascular dysfunction, including shock and diabetic vasculopathy, could
potentially be assessed with the platform we will develop.
 If successful, the work of this interdisciplinary team of physical scientists and clinicians will establish the
feasibility of serially assessing microvascular health during critical illness. These results will in able future
development of hemodynamic monitoring tools and algorithms to support management of ARDS and intensive
care unit patients, ultimately reducing mortality and morbidity.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10193831
- **Project number:** 1R21EB031261-01
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** David Richard Busch
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $385,726
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10193831

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10193831, Development of a platform to non-invasively assess microvascular endothelial dysfunction at the bedside in COVID-19 patients throughout intensive care. (1R21EB031261-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10193831. Licensed CC0.

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