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Researcher leads imaging study to diagnose lung infections
The associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences has been awarded a $3 million, R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
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Dr Nalinikanth Kotagiri / Image: University of Cincinnati
An Indian American researcher from the University of Cincinnati is working on developing a new imaging method that can identify certain types of lung infections in real-time thereby quickening the treatment for critically ill patients.
Dr Nalinikanth Kotagiri, an associate professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the UC James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, has been awarded $3 million, R01 grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for five years, to develop and study the effectiveness of different kinds of injectable probes (metallic contrast agents) that would collect at the site of the infection and immediately light up under a nuclear imaging machine, known as a PET scan.
Radiologists currently use chest X-rays to confirm diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which can only be interpreted by a pathologist, in typically two to three days, but in certain cases patients would not have time to spare.
Commenting on his method, Dr Kotagiri said, "Our solution is to use imaging to identify what is causing the pneumatic episode within hours, to hasten a treatment plan.” He added that the contrast agent development process “does not require elaborate processing or preparation time.”
Kotagiri and colleagues will study bacterial and viral pneumonias in conjunction with COPD using animal models, but the imaging approach has the potential to apply to other types of infections such as fungal infections or conditions such as cystic fibrosis.
The researcher briefed that imaging the patient after treatment could also identify whether the patient is responding to medications such as antibiotics. It further supports in determining the right antibiotics to use, targeting the pathogens that were identified.
Kotagiri completed his PhD in cell and molecular biology from the University of Arkansas and earned his MBBS in general medicine from Andhra Medical College.
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