Award Data

Abstract Alcohol and illicit drug use remain highly prevalent in the US, and epidemiological surveillance surveys estimate that over 20.6 million individuals (~ 8% of the US population) meet standard diagnostic thresholds for substance use disorders (SAMHSA, 2011). Outpatient substance abuse treatment is the predominate method of treatment in the US for SUDs, typically involving intermittent cont ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Cancer is America's second leading cause of death. Many approved cancer drugs, such as bortezomib (Velcade), are cytotoxic agents that kill normal cells as well as tumor cells. Therapeutic benefit depends on tumor cellsbeing more sensitive than normal cells, thereby allowing clinical responses to be achieved at relatively safe drug doses; however, damage t ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The objective of our grant application is to develop an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier and assays to examine permeability by using isolated brain microvessels. Unlike capillaries in other organs, brain capillaries establish a barrier that is largely impermeable to polar and larger chemicals, which are due to tight junctions, the absence of both f ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Infections associated with medical devices can be serious and even fatal. Catheter colonization and production of a biofilm on the surface of a catheter shortly after implantation are normally the prelude for infections. A number of antimicrobial-treated catheters have been developed to combat these infections, however, many of them have limited clinical effica ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Safe and reliable access to major blood vessels and internal organs will be beneficial to patients with cardiovascular disease and cancer. An interventional catheter with ultrasound imaging capability will be developedto enable image-guided access to blood vessels and internal organs. Computer simulations and preliminary data using a transducer similar to that ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) and the Surgical Navigation and Robotics Laboratory (SNR) at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) propose to develop and test a Smart Template to guide transperineal targeted prostate biopsiesand subsequent therapy under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The project aims to solve the problem of poor diagnostic yield in prostate b ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project proposes to build an integrated software-based system for enhancing the accuracy of tumor change detection. The intent of the system, called AutoRegister, which is to be deployed on a clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner platform, is to automate the alignment of a patient's brain scan with that of a prior scan, such that subseque ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall objective of the proposed research is to fully develop and conduct clinical translation of a novel technology that provides minimally invasive surgeons an ability to visualize exposed organ surfaces as wellas structures hidden by them, together with a true appreciation of depth. A long-standing need in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery has bee ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Alcohol misuse continues to be a major public health problem in the United States, contributing substantially to morbidity, mortality, and social costs. There is a solid body of evidence supporting screening and brief intervention (SBI) for alcohol misuse on both public health and cost-effectiveness grounds, and the practice is endorsed by the U.S. Preventive H ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. In the US alone, the disease afflicts ~13 million people and is the third-leading cause of death. Cigarette smoking isthe primary risk factor for COPD, initiating a persistent and progressive inflammatory immune response. Respiratory infections and pollutants can ...