Project Grant R01HL176603

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute awarded Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago $509,622 on September 1, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to evaluate novel ultrasound techniques for assessing right ventricular diastolic dysfunction in children with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

The project conducts a prospective two-center observational cohort study combining conventional ultrasound and ultrafast ultrasound (UFUS) imaging to characterize three phases of diastole: early relaxation, early filling determined by diastolic suction, and late filling during atrial contraction. Ultrafast ultrasound captures cardiac images at 5,000 to 10,000 frames per second, compared to conventional ultrasound's 25 to 100 frames per second, enabling detection of short-lived and fast-occurring cardiac events. Non-invasive ultrasound measurements will be validated against invasive diastolic pressure measurements obtained during cardiac catheterization. Myocardial tissue properties (fibrosis) and blood flow will be characterized using cardiac MRI T1 mapping and right ventricular 4D flow imaging. The study will develop a non-invasive risk score combining UFUS and MRI measurements to predict outcomes in pediatric pulmonary hypertension patients.

Work is performed at the Chicago, Illinois location. The award period runs through May 31, 2030. This is a Project Grant, the standard NIH research funding mechanism for investigator-initiated research.