Project description
3D ultrasound for healthier kidney transplants
Treatment of chronic kidney disease often requires renal transplants. Unfortunately, current methods, like biopsies, are impractical for routine monitoring. Ultrasound localisation microscopy (ULM) and sensing-ULM (sULM) provide insights into kidney microcirculation. However, sULM’s 2D visualisation of glomeruli is limited. The ERC-funded KidneyScope project will advance a sensing-volumetric ULM (3D) technique that could transform renal transplant management by offering a non-invasive, portable solution for monitoring vascular health and detecting early graft dysfunction. The project will combine volumetric ULM with glomerular insights to provide high-resolution assessments of renal microcirculation. It will build on previous ERC projects like ResolveStroke and StrokeMonitor.
Objective
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major global health issue, with peripheral kidney microvascular damage being a hallmark feature that is challenging to assess and often requires renal transplant. Current diagnostic methods for monitoring microvascular complications in renal grafts, such as biopsies, lack the practicality needed for regular assessment.
Ultrasound localization microscopy (ULM) and sensing-ULM (sULM) present a promising approach, providing detailed metrics on the microvascular network. We have demonstrated that sULM can visualize glomeruli in a patient's kidney in 2D by observing the peculiar swirling behavior of clinically common microbubbles within them. Such a technique could be used to characterize the kidney's microcirculation and its modifications by pathologies like CKD, but was severely impaired by its planar character.
A sensing-volumetric-ULM, 3D, technique could transform renal transplant management by offering a non-invasive, portable solution to monitor vascular health and detect early graft dysfunction in entire kidneys at the microscale. This innovation builds on the ERC Cog ResolveStroke and ERC POC StrokeMonitor projects. The KidneyScope project, combining volumetric ULM and this glomerular insight, represents a promising approach to address the urgent need for high-resolution renal microcirculation assessment.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-POC
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75794 PARIS
France
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