? The objective of this amended proposal is to acquire a state-of-the-art cardiac ultrasonograph with high spatial and temporal resolution to be used for small animal phenotype analysis. The instrument is used to obtain M-mode, 2-D and Doppler echocardiograms of the heart and great vessels for high-throughput cardiovasculm analysis, and detailed anatomic-physiologic studies in genetically engineered mice and other animal models of cardiovascular disease. The instrument also has the potential for serial imaging of non-cardiac structures, and in this application, investigators propose its use in evaluating polycystic renal disease and granulosa cell tumors. ? ? The major users of this instrument include recipients and of NIH peer-reviewed investigator initiated research awards. These biomedical investigators hail from multiple disciplines, including medicine, pediatrics, genetics, physiology and biophysics, pharmacology, anatomy, and pathology. This core of NIH-sponsored investigators from a variety of Departments at CWRU perform studies in rodents and chicks; these investigators have expressed an interest in, and through discussions and subsequent collaborative efforts spanning the past year and one-half, have recognized the critical importance of an echocardiographic evaluation for their research programs. ? ?
