Grant: Project Grant

Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases often develop a life threatening complication known as a bowel stricture. This is a narrowing of the bowel lumen to the point where it is no longer functional and material can no longer pass through. These strictures can occur due to high levels of inflammation and edema, a build up of scar tissue, or a combination of both. Where inflammation can be treated with therapeutics, a buildup of scar tissue (fibrosis) requires immediate surgery. What is desperately needed is a tool that can tell gastroenterologists whether the stricture can be treated with therapeutics (inflammation) or if surgery is the correct course of action (scar tissue). In this proposal, we aim to develop an ultrasound contrast agent that can stick to inflamed vessels in bowel strictures and be used to distinguish between inflammatory and fibrotic strictures. Using a combination of small and large animal models, will optimize construction of these microbubbles, determine how effective they are at differentiating between inflammatory and fibrotic bowel segments, and construct a clinic-ready formula that does not impact clinical flow.