Federal Project Grant Award Summary

Yale University received a $445,000 Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), effective August 1, 2026, through July 31, 2028. The award funds development and application of Deuterium Metabolic Imaging (DMI) technology to non-invasively map cardiac glucose metabolism and detect ischemic conditions in the heart. DMI uses deuterated compounds (such as deuterated glucose) to quantitatively measure metabolic pathways and their byproducts—including lactate production—providing metabolic characterization that conventional imaging modalities (PET, echocardiography, MRI) cannot robustly deliver. The technology tracks deuterium-labeled metabolic substrates and their conversion products, enabling real-time visualization of metabolic dysfunction.

The primary deliverable is adaptation and validation of DMI methodology for cardiac imaging applications, with particular focus on identifying hibernating myocardium in coronary artery disease patients. Hibernating myocardium—characterized by reduced fatty acid oxidation, increased glucose utilization, and lactate accumulation due to chronic ischemia—affects approximately 4 million heart-failure patients in the United States. By enabling non-invasive metabolic mapping, DMI is positioned to serve as a complementary imaging tool for image-guided revascularization decisions (coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous interventions), addressing a significant clinical gap in patient stratification for revascularization therapy. Research will be conducted at Yale University's New Haven, Connecticut facility.