# Real-time EIT pulmonary imaging for infants requiring ventilatory therapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $673,772

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is the most common morbidity of prematurity with over
10,000 infants diagnosed each year in the United States. Underdeveloped lungs at birth, the need
for ventilatory support, which may result in ventilator-induced lung injury, and other factors
result in significant structural and functional pulmonary abnormalities associated with short- and
long-term lung disease. Effective management includes an individualized approach to choosing
the right ventilation strategy and medications. Two important techniques include the use of a
long i-time ventilatory strategy and administration of bronchodilators. However, each of these
treatments has some associated risk, and there is currently no real-time method to assess their
effectiveness on improving ventilation and perfusion.
Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a noninvasive, non-ionizing real-time functional
imaging technique with no harmful side effects, suitable for patients of any age. We hypothesize
that EIT images and derived measures can provide real-time, actionable information to guide the
clinician's treatment strategy in infants with BPD, and satisfy this unmet need. In this proposal
we will carry out the following specific aims: (1) Build a new Adaptive Current Tomography
system designed for 3D imaging of very young intubated infants including novel 3-D
reconstruction algorithms to provide real-time images of regional ventilation, pulsatile perfusion
and quantitative EIT-derived measures. (2) Assess the ability of EIT images and derived measures
to determine the effectiveness of long i-time ventilation strategies while they are being applied.
An EIT Visualization Platform will be developed to enable the clinician to visualize the images and
output measures to assess treatment effectiveness. (3) Determine what combination of EIT-
derived measures provides the best assessment of bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) in infants
with or at risk of BPD after the first administration of bronchodilator therapy. We will evaluate
the efficacy in Aims 2 and 3 in a study with infants enrolled from the Level IV NICU at Stanford
University Medical Center and the University of Colorado Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10901213
- **Project number:** 1R01HD113290-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Lynn Mueller
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $673,772
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-01 → 2028-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10901213

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10901213, Real-time EIT pulmonary imaging for infants requiring ventilatory therapy (1R01HD113290-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10901213. Licensed CC0.

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