Grant: Research Tools and Instruments - Category 1 (<$150,000)

Echocardiography, which uses sound waves (ultrasound) to create images of the heart and blood vessels, has become routinely used in the diagnosis and management of many human cardiovascular diseases, and to study the cardiovascular system of several groups of animals. It can provide a wealth of information, including the size and shape of the heart, its pumping capacity, the location and extent of tissue damage/adaptation, and measurements of blood flow through, and the functioning of, various vessels in the body. When combined with measurement of the electrical activity of the heart (i.e. ECG) it is an incredibly powerful non-invasive technique for gathering information on heart function and other aspects of cardiovascular physiology. In this application, we are requesting a full featured, and portable, diagnostic ultrasound system (with ECG capabilities) to answer fundamental, and important, questions about fish and crustacean heart function, fish ovarian blood flow and its regulation, and cephalopod (squid, octopus) cardiovascular anatomy and function. This research will greatly improve our understanding of heart and vascular anatomy and physiology in these animals, and the role played by the cardiovascular system in determining how these animals will be impacted by accelerated climate change (specifically, low oxygen levels and high temperatures). Further, it will allow for the study of how high blood pressure affects the ability of the sympathetic nervous system to control the vasculature, and its impact on the cell receptors (B-adrenoreceptors) that receive its signals and control vessel dilation and constriction. This latter research can be directly applied to human health (hypertension is a common, and serious, medical condition), but will also provide novel information that can be used to understand how differences in blood pressure (which varies greatly between fishes, and mammals) impact blood flow and vascular physiology. Finally, this equipment will be used to instruct graduate students and other trainees in echocardiography, and thus, increase their ability to ask important questions with relevance to comparative physiology and medicine.