A research team from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has won a $13.5 million grant from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop implantable ultrasound technology and other devices for imaging and treating patients with spinal cord injuries.
With the goal of targeting the disruption in blood flow that occurs alongside injury to the spinal cord, the group plans to implant electronic devices that use ultrasound pulse echoes and electrical stimulation to monitor and treat the tiny blood vessels and surrounding tissue at and around the site of spinal cord injury, according to the university. Imaging and stimulating the blood vessels, as well as controlling spinal fluid dynamics, could optimize the delivery of oxygen and nutrients and potentially prevent additional damage to the spinal cord, the researchers said.
This technique will require miniaturizing of ultrasound transducer technology, noted project co-leader Amir Manbachi, PhD. Dr. Nicholas Theodore is the other co-leader.
Although the primary mission of the five-year project is to develop devices that can be deployed to service members on military fronts, the researchers said they also hope to make the technologies available to benefit civilians who experience spinal cord injuries. Initially, the technologies will likely be used experimentally and clinically to treat acute spinal cord injuries, but the researchers also plan to develop more advanced versions designed for patients suffering from chronic spinal cord injury, according to Johns Hopkins.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
