# MR-compatible Devices for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiomyopathies

> **NIH NIH R01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $791,786

## Abstract

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) is a non-invasive imaging technique with exquisite soft-tissue detail for the
assessment of heart structure and function and provides an excellent screening tool but cannot always obviate
more invasive procedures, such as endomyocardial biopsy (EMB). Interventional CMR (iCMR) is a minimally
invasive technique without radiation, which has been hampered by the lack of non-ferrous devices that can be
easily visualized, enabling the navigation of tasks, such as EMB, safely. Currently, one in nine deaths in the
US is attributed to heart failure (HF), with health care costs exceeding $30 billion in 2013. Of the ~5.1 million
Americans with HF, the definitive treatment is heart transplantation (HTx), where rejection is assessed with
endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) – a procedure performed under X-ray guidance to obtain random samples of the
right ventricular septum. However, many patients, especially children with cardiomyopathy and after HTx and
HF caused by non-ischemic cardiomyopathies (NICM), do not have global changes to the myocardium, but
rather, patchy disease, which is often restricted to limited portions of the left ventricle. Thus, EMB may yield a
definitive diagnosis in <20% of the cases. As complications of EMB include ventricular puncture, pericardial
tamponade, stroke, and death, the risk-benefit ratio of EMB limits its use. However, accurate diagnosis of
cardiomyopathies or early recognition of heart rejection can lead to definitive treatment or measures to avoid
heart rejection, respectively, with enormous individual patient impact. Therefore, we propose to develop an
MRI-compatible suite of interventional devices to allow direct targeting of diseased myocardium (based on
CMR) for EMB and treatment of cardiomyopathies, for both right- and left-sided catheterization. To this end,
we will develop an active pigtail catheter with a guidewire for iCMR cardiac catheterization to be used in
combination with an active MR-steerable sheath/bioptome device or transmyocardial injection catheter. These
devices will enable direct targeting of the disease to increase diagnostic yield and decrease complications.
Currently, there are no commercially available active MR-visible EMB, pigtail, or injection catheters. Significant
advances to our realization of a clinically relevant MR-EMB device include the creation of a sharp-jaw EMB
mechanism that is safe from heating, but provides a specific MR signature when the device is open vs. closed,
and injection devices that can determine myocardial apposition so that therapeutics reach the intended target
of the myocardium. Furthermore, as pediatric HTx patients receive up to six EMBs in the first year, the iCMR
suite of devices will significantly reduce ionizing radiation in a particularly vulnerable population. Our research
proposal will develop these devices in a canine model of spontaneous NICM that is similar in size to children's
hearts to ensure these are compatible with pediatr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10198263
- **Project number:** 1R01HL157740-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** DARA L KRAITCHMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $791,786
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-08-20 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10198263

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10198263, MR-compatible Devices for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiomyopathies (1R01HL157740-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10198263. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*