# Robotic Lung Ultrasound for Triage of COVID-19 Patients in a Resource-Limited Environment

> **NIH NIH DP5** · WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE · 2020 · $386,461

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has already taken on a pandemic of epic
proportions, affecting over 8 million humans in an estimated 100 countries. A global response to prepare health
systems worldwide is of utmost importance. Respiratory symptoms are the primary manifestation of COVID-19,
and the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 can range from mild illness to severe, acute and fulminant respiratory
distress. This varying severity in the face of a worldwide pandemic necessitates rapid diagnosis to provide the
proper triage and disposition of patients. Diagnostic testing such as plain-film radiography (x-ray) and chest
computed tomography (CT) are considered the mainstay of diagnostic imaging in the detection of lung-related
disease. Lung ultrasound (LUS) has emerged as an alternative to x-ray and chest CT for rapid diagnosis of
COVID-19 affected patients with major advantages include safety, absence of radiation, low cost, and its
portability for ease of bedside diagnosis. Guidelines for LUS imaging in COVID-19 patients have been proposed.
However, LUS imaging is highly operator dependent. In resource-limited areas, the accessibility is limited by the
small number of physicians and sonographers who are properly trained in providing accurate diagnosis.
Additionally, LUS imaging requires close physical proximity between the operator and patient, which could lead
to an increased risk of COVID-19 transmission. Therefore, there is a unmet need to develop a more accessible
LUS system for COVID-19 patients, whereby reducing physical contact between the operator and patient.
 In this proposal, we aim to develop a safe, low-cost, and easy-to-use robotic LUS platform to 1) maximize the
accessibility in a resource-limited environment and 2) minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission between
patients and healthcare workers. This robotic platform will be designed to conduct LUS procedures following
established diagnostic workflows, while ensuring adequate safety. The proposed gantry-based robot platform
allows the operator to tele-operatively manipulate the ultrasound probe based on visual information from
cameras. Thus, the operator is not required to be present with the patient, improving accessibility. An optimal
tissue-probe contact pressure will be maintained by an electronics-free passive mechanical configuration to
avoid excessive contact forces and ensure patient safety. The gantry system is structurally simple, low-cost, and
easy to implement in a research-limited environment. Specifically, we propose to evaluate the robotic LUS
platform with the active-passive hybrid control (Aim 1), demonstrate the safety and cross-validation in healthy
volunteers (Aim 2), and demonstrate the system reliability and performance in COVID19 patients (Aim 3). This
proposed robotic LUS platform (1) makes the LUS procedure more accessible in a resource-limited environment,
(2) minimizes the risk of contagion between patients...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10199160
- **Project number:** 3DP5OD028162-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** John Hardin
- **Activity code:** DP5 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $386,461
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10199160

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10199160, Robotic Lung Ultrasound for Triage of COVID-19 Patients in a Resource-Limited Environment (3DP5OD028162-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10199160. Licensed CC0.

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