911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ

911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ awards Graham-Dixon Excellence Award for research advancing non-invasive imaging of coronary microvascular disease.

has been named the recipient of the Graham-Dixon Excellence Award in Translational Cardiovascular Clinical Research, recognising his leadership of a project to develop a novel ultrasound-based technique for imaging the heart’s microvasculature.

The project brings together an interdisciplinary team across engineering and clinical science, with Professor Tang working alongside and from the Faculty of Medicine, and from the Department of Bioengineering.

The project, Transthoracic Super-Resolution Imaging for Coronary Microvascular Visualization and Characterisation, was selected for its scientific innovation, a strong interdisciplinary approach, and clear potential to address a major gap in cardiovascular diagnosis.

Established in partnership with the Graham-Dixon Charitable Trust, the award provides up to £200,000 over two years to support research that bridges the gap between discovery and clinical application. It was created to accelerate the development of clinically relevant innovations that deliver measurable patient benefit and forms part of 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s broader strategy to accelerate translational research and health system impact.

The project was selected for its originality, technical sophistication, and strong translational potential. The award panel highlighted its ability to advance a novel imaging capability while addressing a significant and under-recognised clinical challenge.

Professor Mary Ryan, Vice-Provost (Research and Enterprise) said: 

"This project addresses an important gap in cardiovascular diagnosis. It brings together advances in imaging science with a clear clinical need and has strong potential to support improved patient care as the technology develops."

Addressing an under-recognised clinical challenge

Chest pain is one of the most common reasons for hospital investigation, yet a substantial proportion of patients undergoing coronary angiography are found to have no significant narrowing in their large coronary arteries.

In many of these cases, symptoms are driven by coronary microvascular disease, a condition affecting the network of small blood vessels within the heart muscle. These vessels play a critical role in regulating blood flow and oxygen delivery but cannot currently be directly visualised using standard clinical imaging techniques.

As a result, patients often face uncertainty in diagnosis and limited access to mechanism-informed treatment strategies.

Professor Mengxing Tang said:

“Currently, many people with chest pain have microvascular disease in the heart, but the condition often goes undetected, leaving millions without a clear diagnosis or mechanism-informed treatment. This is because current diagnostic methods are designed for diseases affecting the larger vessels on the heart’s surface. 

We are very excited to receive the Graham Dixon Excellence Award, which enables engineers, clinicians, and industry partners to work together to address this pressing challenge by developing a bedside, non-invasive technology to directly image the heart’s microvessels.”

The project will build on pioneering work at 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ in super-resolution ultrasound, a technique capable of imaging structures at a much finer scale than conventional ultrasound by tracking microscopic contrast agents within the bloodstream.

Previous studies by the team have demonstrated the feasibility of visualising myocardial microvasculature in patients using specialised research systems. However, these approaches have been limited by their reliance on non-clinical equipment and two-dimensional imaging.

^{The image above shows super-resolution ultrasound imaging of microvascular blood flow in the human heart (Yan et al., Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2024).}

This project will address these challenges by translating the technology onto a clinically approved ultrasound scanner and advancing it to three-dimensional imaging, enabling more robust assessment of microvascular structure and blood flow in a moving organ.

The research programme will be delivered in two phases. The first will focus on technical development and optimisation, including the implementation of imaging protocols, motion correction algorithms, and microbubble tracking methods adapted for clinical systems. The second phase will evaluate the technique in a patient cohort to establish feasibility and explore quantitative imaging markers of microvascular function.

The work will be carried out in collaboration with a leading industry partner, supporting the development of a clinically viable platform and a pathway towards wider adoption.

Supporting translation of a new imaging modality

The panel noted that the project represents a genuine step-change in cardiovascular imaging capability, with the potential to fundamentally reshape how coronary microvascular disease is visualised and understood.

Dr Francis Graham-Dixon, Chairman of the Graham-Dixon Trust, added:

"The Graham-Dixon Trust is delighted to support Professor Mengxing Tang's highly innovative, interdisciplinary and technically sophisticated proposal. His work promotes a genuine step-change in ultrasound-based imaging capability, whilst addressing a significant and under-recognised challenge in the characterisation of the poorly-defined clinical entity of microvascular cardiac dysfunction.

The research application meets the strategic aim of the Trust, in showing promise in the development of this patented invention into a widely available tool for clinical application in the foreseeable future."

By enabling direct visualisation and quantification of the heart’s smallest blood vessels, the technology has the potential to improve diagnosis for patients with unexplained chest pain, support more precise classification of disease, and inform more targeted treatment strategies.

In the longer term, the approach could support monitoring of treatment response and disease progression, contributing to more personalised care.

Strengthening 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s leadership in cardiovascular imaging

The project builds on 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ’s leadership in advanced ultrasound imaging and translational cardiovascular research and provides a platform for future large-scale studies and international collaboration.

It also supports the development of early-career researchers working at the interface of engineering and clinical science, contributing to the continued growth of interdisciplinary research at 911½ñÈÕºÚÁÏ.