Thursday, May 15, 2025
5/15/2025
High Resolution Research Ultrasound - Project Summary/Abstract Funds are requested to purchase a VisualSonics Vevo F2® high resolution research ultrasound imaging system for the Cardiovascular Phenotype Core at the University of Iowa, which has been in continuous operation since 1997. In the time since, the Core has provided over 40,000 imaging studies in mice and rats, and has introduced a number of novel methods for assessment of organ structure and function in vivo. In 2010, a Vevo 2100 system was purchased with NIH funds. Usage of that instrument has exceeded projections by > 50%; reaching > 4000 studies per year, in support of researchers from the University of Iowa College of Medicine and College of Dentistry. The vendor no longer supports or services the Vevo 2100 line of instruments. Vevo 2100 equipment failures have been rare but consequential, including meltdown of its central processing unit in 2021. Accommodation of new users, along with existing users, would not have been, and will not be, possible without prompt expert vendor service. The requested instrument will reside in Cardiovascular Phenotype Core space, which is already configured for that purpose, administered by the PI (Weiss). The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (UICCOM) will fund the instrument's service contract for 5 years after the initial one-year warranty expires, and will maintain necessary space and infrastructure without charges to the Core. The Cardiovascular Research Center will provide funds for faculty, a trainee, and one research assistant. Critically, all fixed costs of operation of the instrument will be underwritten by the institution. Users of the instrument will thus only be charged for variable costs of operation, which will be limited to sonographic technologist hourly wage plus consumable supplies necessary for imaging studies. In summary, funds are requested to support the urgent need to replace an obsolete, heretofore highly productive, high-resolution ultrasonograph, to support 15 NIH-funded research projects representing 6 departments in the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, one department each in the UI Colleges of Dentistry and Engineering, and the School of Engineering at University of Colorado-Boulder.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).