Tulane working on test to predict COVID-19 complications

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Tulane University engineers and doctors are working to develop new technology designed to detect severe complications from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

A team at the university has received a nearly $600,000 Trailblazer Award from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to begin research that will lead to tests that could detect complications such as thrombosis, a condition in which blood clots block veins and arteries.

“Many patients who died from COVID-19 and other infectious diseases developed severe thrombotic complications shortly after disease symptoms were manifested,” said Damir Khismatullin, an associate professor of biomedical engineering in the Tulane School of Science and Engineering. “Their lives could be saved by predictive diagnosis of disease severity and timely treatment.  However, tests that effectively predict the severity of infectious diseases are not available yet.”

The goal is to develop a diagnostic test that uses a drop of blood from a finger prick – a test that could be performed at a hospital, in a clinic or at home, a news release said.

To learn more, visit Tulane’s website.