Jessica Wallisch, MD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
Full BiographyJessica Wallisch, MD, Critical Care Medicine, received a $200,000 Innovative Project Award from the American Heart Association, covering a project period of July 1, 2024-June 30, 2026.
The funding is for Dr. Wallisch’s project, “Early Detection of Acute Brain Injury in Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation with ultralow-field MRI.”
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a special treatment for severe heart and lung failure, but half of children who survive ECMO end up with a new brain issue due to higher rates of acute brain injury (ABI). These brain injuries can happen in different ways, like not getting enough oxygen, having a stroke, or bleeding in the brain, and make it more likely that the child receiving treatment dies or has lasting issues.
The brain imaging that can be done with ECMO has limits. Ultrasound and CT scans can find bleeding but have trouble with spotting injuries from strokes or low oxygen. Standard MRI is better for these injuries but can't be used during ECMO. This means that care is slowed down.
There's a new FDA-approved bedside MRI machine called Swoop by Hyperfine that looks promising for adult brain injuries, explains Dr. Wallisch. However, the bedside MRI machine hasn't been well studied in ECMO patients or children's brain injuries.
“We plan to study when brain injuries happen in young ECMO patients and how well the bedside MRI compares to CT scans and ultrasound in diagnosing these injuries,” said Dr. Wallisch.
“This research could give us a new way to image brains for children on ECMO and provide important information to speed up treatment of new brain injuries.”
The goal is that the ability to provide critical real-time monitoring and diagnosis of all types of ABI for children on ECMO will allow clinicians to make crucial informed decisions and deliver targeted treatment for ABI.
Co-investigators on the project include Timothy Zinkus, MD, and Nathan Artz, PhD, MS, MEd, DABR, Radiology, as well as Hung-Wen (Henry) Yeh, PhD, MS, Health Services and Outcomes Research.
Dr. Wallisch also wants to recognize some other co-investigators, explaining that this work would not be possible without Sherwin Chan, MD, PhD, Radiology, who was the leader in bringing Hyperfine to CM and adapting this technology for pediatric patients. Dr. Wallisch also wants to acknowledge her intensivist co-investigators John Daniel, MD, MS, Neonatology, Asdis Wagner, DO, PICU, and Ali Taber, MD, CICU, who she says have been instrumental in helping her bring this technology to our sickest patients.
“I would feel remiss if I didn't also mention my fabulous research coordinators Maura Sien and Sarah Foster who really make this project possible as well as my research mentors and leadership who have given me the support to make this successful,” she said.