# Ultrasound-based Diagnosis and Monitoring of Neutropenic Enterocolitis in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

> **NIH NIH N43** · NOVATEUR RESEARCH SOLUTIONS, LLC · 2024 · $354,985

## Abstract

Acute lymphocytic leukemia, a blood cancer, is most common among children under five and is treated with chemotherapy. Neutropenic enterocolitis (NEC) is a life-threatening complication following chemotherapy with high mortality rates in newborns with an incidence rate of up to 46%. CT is used to diagnose NEC but has limited availability, reduced sensitivity, and specificity. Moreover, continuous CT monitoring is not feasible due to the risks involving multiple exposures to ionizing doses. Ultrasound is a viable low-cost, and safe alternative. However, its adoption suffers from several challenges that include the sonography protocol’s complexity, high inter and intra-user variability, and inability to track longitudinal changes throughout treatment. We propose ODIN, a guidance, detection, auto-capture, and measurement system that guides and captures high-quality images from POCUS devices to automate the detection of thickened bowel walls. It minimizes measurement variability across different patient cohorts and due to operators. Moreover, it utilizes deep learning models with interpretable features to generate explainable decisions and provide longitudinal insights.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11038279
- **Project number:** 75N91024C00002-0-9999-1
- **Recipient organization:** NOVATEUR RESEARCH SOLUTIONS, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Viksit Kumar
- **Activity code:** N43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $354,985
- **Award type:** —
- **Project period:** 2024-02-15 → 2025-02-14

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11038279

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11038279, Ultrasound-based Diagnosis and Monitoring of Neutropenic Enterocolitis in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (75N91024C00002-0-9999-1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-07-09 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11038279. Licensed CC0.

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