# Extracorporeal and Endoscopic SWIR Mapping of Dynamic Muscle Function

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2022 · $206,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The contraction of muscle cells in organs such as the heart, uterus, urinary bladder and intestine is regulated by
and is affecting a complex activity associated with electrical excitation. Our long-term goal is to develop a
paradigm-shifting approach for studying the dynamic actions and coupling between electrical and mechanical
properties in muscular tissues and organs to better link them to health and diseases such as Parkinson’s disease
and heart failure. New short-wave infrared (SWIR; ~1-2.5 µm) light imaging has bands with relatively low blood
absorbance and scattering and has been proposed recently for both deep tissue and in vivo imaging. The
general objective of this project is to develop an in vivo extracorporeal and endoscopic label-free SWIR
approach for mapping patterns of muscular function. Accordingly, label-free multi-spectral datasets recorded
simultaneously at optimized SWIR wavelengths will provide novel spectroscopic fingerprints of electro-
mechanical actions in muscle tissue. We will use beating hearts of living mice as a platform for developing the
technology for high-speed probing at multiple SWIR wavelengths to test the general hypothesis that in vivo
intrinsic optical imaging can characterize simultaneously the distinct dynamic spatiotemporal patterns
of electrical and mechanical muscular actions. Our Specific Aims are: Aim 1: To demonstrate that intrinsic
multi-spectral SWIR light imaging can be used for extracorporeal mapping of cardiac muscle electro-mechanical
dynamics. We will use a specialized high-speed SWIR camera and multi-spectral alternating light sources
located outside of the body of label-free mice to test the hypothesis that extracorporeal mapping of
spatiotemporal patterns of cardiac activity in vivo is feasible in two optical settings: (1a) wide view objective lens
assembly for distanced positioning from the body surface to maximize viewing area and intensity of light
illumination and probing. (1b) borescope system in contact with the body surface for imaging with minimal media
heterogeneity and light loss. Aim 2: To demonstrate functionality of dual-mode endoscopic SWIR system for
label-free mapping electrical excitability and mechanical contractility of cardiac muscle. We will test here the
hypothesis that low absorbance and scattering of specific wavelengths in blood permits endoscopic probing of
the myocardial electrical and mechanical activation, required for mapping deep muscular tissues in cases of
large animals or patients. Accomplishing our aims will open the possibility of a new photonic approach for label-
free mapping of dynamic excitation and contractile actions in muscular tissues for in vivo research and clinical
applications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10524926
- **Project number:** 1R21EB032661-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** JUSTUS M ANUMONWO
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $206,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10524926

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10524926, Extracorporeal and Endoscopic SWIR Mapping of Dynamic Muscle Function (1R21EB032661-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10524926. Licensed CC0.

---

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