Andreas Loening Leads ARPA-H–Funded Effort to Advance Lymphatic Imaging
Andreas Loening, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiology (Body MRI), has received an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) award to support work aimed at improving imaging of the lymphatic system. The project is supported by up to $3.9 million in funding and brings together collaborators from Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Berkeley, and Imperial College London.
Within this framework, Loening is leading a collaborative team working to make magnetic resonance lymphangiography (MRL) faster, more accessible, and more accurate for clinical use. MRL is an important diagnostic tool that enables whole-body visualization of the lymphatic system and helps clinicians evaluate lymphatic flow as well as identify complications such as fluid buildup, fibrosis, and abnormal fat deposition associated with lymphatic dysfunction.
“Lymphatic diseases are often overlooked and surprisingly under-researched given their prevalence in the human population,” Loening said. “This award has given our team a unique opportunity to direct appreciable research effort at improving the state of the art in MR lymphangiography.”
Andreas Loening, MD, PhD
These advancements aim to address current limitations in MRL, which can require long scan times, specialized expertise, and contrast agents not tailored for lymphatic assessment. By improving the accessibility and efficiency of this imaging technique, the team hopes to expand availability of high-quality diagnostic scans closer to where patients live and support earlier, more precise detection of lymphatic disorders.
ARPA-H provides research funding to build high-payoff capabilities or platforms designed to drive biomedical breakthroughs from the molecular to the societal level, with the goal of delivering transformative solutions for all individuals. Its focus areas include high-impact, high-risk research efforts intended to accelerate innovation in health and medicine beyond what is typically achievable through traditional funding pathways.
Read more about this work on the Stanford Medicine News Center.