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In the United States, ~15% of adults, or 37 million people, have chronic kidney disease. Renal microvascular circulation is vital to maintain the health of the kidney. Studies have shown that abnormal renal microvascular circulation is strongly associated with acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and acute renal rejection. Therefore, noninvasive imaging modalities that can visualize renal microvasculature over time can increase our understanding of the pathological cause of kidney diseases and may provide a new diagnostic approach to assessing the therapies. In clinics, imaging renal perfusion is already a necessary means of diagnosing kidney diseases; however, monitoring renal microvascular change repeatedly with existing renal imaging modalities is challenging due to the limited imaging resolution and limited allowable dosage of imaging contrast agent. The main goal of this proposal is to develop a paradigm-shifting imaging technology, a contrast-agent-free super-resolution functional ultrasound technology for imaging renal microvascular circulation. This new imaging technology is expected to reveal the blood flow directions and velocity with a high spatial resolution in micrometers and an imaging depth in centimeters. Because this new technology no longer relies on contrast agents, which are significantly different from traditional ultrasound scans or super-resolution ultrasound localization microscopy, it enables frequent scanning without limitations.
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