# Improving Treatment of Stroke: Guiding Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy

> **NIH NIH R43** · LCD NANOTECH LLC · 2022 · $287,646

## Abstract

Abstract: In the last few years there has been a revolution in the treatment of ischemic stroke. Thrombus
dissolving drugs help many patients but have limited effectiveness when the large cerebral arteries are blocked.
It has recently been shown that physically removing the thrombus through a catheter is remarkably effective at
reducing the damage to the brain. Removing the thrombus can be effective up to 24 hours after the onset of
symptoms.
The retrieval method that is most consistently effective is to engage the thrombus with a stent-like retriever
and use the retriever to pull the thrombus back into a catheter. One of the challenging aspects of removing the
thrombus with this method is that the thrombus cannot be directly visualized during the process of retrieval. The
thrombus can be left behind as the stent is pulled back, or fragments of the thrombus can break off and lodge
downstream where they cannot be reached. The thrombus itself cannot be seen in x-ray images so there is no
way to know how completely the thrombus is being moved with the stent-retriever.
 We propose to develop unique magnetic nanotechnology to monitor mechanical extraction of these
thromboses. The thrombus will be coated with magnetic nanoparticles and the signal from those nanoparticles
will be used to monitor the position of the thrombus relative to the stent-retriever. Using the stent-retriever itself
as an antenna, one can measure signal from nearby magnetic nanoparticles bound within the thrombus. We will
demonstrate that the signal changes dramatically if the thrombus moves relative to the stent-retriever or if a
fragment breaks off the thrombus. We will also demonstrate that it is possible to produce images of the thrombus
during thrombus removal. These tools will enable the physician to reduce procedure time, more consistently
remove the entire thrombus which we expect will improve patient outcomes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10546005
- **Project number:** 1R43NS129419-01
- **Recipient organization:** LCD NANOTECH LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** JOHN B WEAVER
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $287,646
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10546005

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10546005, Improving Treatment of Stroke: Guiding Endovascular Mechanical Thrombectomy (1R43NS129419-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10546005. Licensed CC0.

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