Technology

Current blood-flow diagnostics for cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases utilize ultrasound and MRI technology, but are limited in their capacity to localize areas of disease progression. Ultrasound Doppler provides good temporal resolution but only provides one dimensional velocity measurement and angular error. MRI phase velocity mapping offers multi-component velocity data and high spatial resolution but poor temporal resolution and is both cumbersome and expensive.

Illumasonix combines the advantages of MRI velocimetry with the temporal resolution and ease-of-use of ultrasound. Illumasonix aims to commercialize a system which uses ultrasound and FDA approved microbubble contrast agents to obtain extremely detailed maps of blood flow. The technology provides quantitative information on complex blood flow patterns, and thereby offers a non-invasive, near real-time assessment of localized hemodynamics for evaluating disease progression within the cardiovascular system.


Specifically, the technology uses ultrasound and contrast-providing microbubbles that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Robin Shandas, a professor of mechanical engineering at the UC-Boulder, as well as professor of pediatrics at UC-Denver and Health Sciences Center, is developing a system based on this technique that can be used to provide near real-time assessment of blood flow to detect and assess blockages.

• Millions are affected by cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases annually.
• Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in the U.S.
• Evaluating vulnerability of vascular plaques and predicting rupture of vascular aneurysms remain problematic.

The Illumasonix technology is currently conducting clinical trials in Europe and will begin in the U.S. soon thereafter.