Examination of Arterial Flow In Transplanted Renal Allografts
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Examination of Arterial Flow In Transplanted Renal Allografts
IRAS ID
362327
Contact name
Colin Bicknell
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research Governance and Integrity Team (RGIT), Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
The candidate’s research will monitor arterial flow to transplant grafts to allow for quick detection of graft compromise.
The project comparing discrepancies between imaging modalities looking at arterial supply to transplanted renal grafts. This will involve retrospective analysis of duplex ultrasound (DUS) and its comparison to CT angiograms (CTA) to optimise both diagnosis and treatment of impaired blood flow to transplanted grafts.
A literature review will be done to assess the advantages and disadvantages of both imaging modalities which would also allow their direct comparison. At present, every transplant recipient is scanned via DUS in the postoperative phase. This provides accurate visualisation of blood flow to the graft without compromising renal function as a result of contrast toxicity. However, in certain situations a CTA is required to better delineate anatomy and arterial flow. Analysis of DUS, CTAs and renal function to predict the likelihood of threatened grafts and subsequent declining renal function.
The aim is to highlight whether DUS continues to be a cost-effective tool to accurately monitor transplant recipients and, if positive, would negate the need for serial CTA scans.The candidate will also learn coding and assess the possibility of introducing an element of machine learning into the project. Anonymised arterial duplex scans will be organised into different categories fed into a software programme that will ‘learn’ of the outcomes and begin to categorise them without a clinician needing to do so. Anonymised CTA DICOM images will also be analysed in similar manner.
The candidate will assess the current evidence available regarding these imaging techniques. If no preference is given and no consensus exists within the data collected, this could highlight the lack of guidelines regarding imaging modality. In addition, the candidate will assess the acceptability, clinical and cost effectiveness of these imaging modalities in recipients post-transplant.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/YH/0091
Date of REC Opinion
24 Apr 2026
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion