ERC Starting Grant · 2018
Due to an aging population, increasingly more cardiac devices are implanted (pacemaker/ICD/CRT/ prosthetic valve/LVAD; worldwide ~2 million yearly). Life-threatening bacterial infections (1-60% infection and 29-50% mortality rate) associated with these devices are a major healthcare burden and pose scientific challenges. Ultrasound imaging is currently the primary diagnostic modality. However, it lacks specificity and sensitivity because the signal from the bacteria is similar to the signal of healthy tissue or the cardiac device, thus making accurate diagnosis impossible. Recent developments in targeted ultrasound contrast agents (i.e. targeted microbubbles (tMB), 1-8 micron in size) allow…
From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.