Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded a $763,046 Project Grant to the Regents of the University of Minnesota on July 15, 2026, under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) to develop and validate a rapid cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) protocol for heart failure diagnosis. The primary deliverable is a clinically optimized CMR examination protocol that reduces scan time from 45-60 minutes to approximately 10 minutes while eliminating the need for breath-holding. The project integrates deep learning-based computational imaging strategies to enable high-resolution real-time CMR sequences acquired during free breathing, including cine imaging, late gadolinium enhancement, and quantitative CMR acquisitions. This advancement addresses critical barriers to CMR adoption in clinical practice by reducing patient discomfort, examination duration, and associated costs while maintaining diagnostic capability to identify the presence, severity, and underlying cause of heart failure.

The grant period extends through March 31, 2030, and will be executed at the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis facility. As a major research institution with established federal contracting experience and specialized medical imaging capabilities, the University of Minnesota will translate these computational imaging techniques into clinical practice, facilitating broader utilization of CMR in heart failure diagnostics across the healthcare system. The resulting rapid, patient-friendly CMR protocol is expected to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical outcomes while reducing the economic burden of heart failure care on the Medicare system.