Astellas European Foundation Grant Awarded to Investigate Functional Ultrasound Imaging as a Support to Liver Transplantation

CHERTSEY, England, September 15, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

$150,000 Grant goes to team led by Dr Federico Esposti from Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan 

The 2015 Astellas European Foundation Transplantation Grant has been awarded to a team led by Dr Federico Esposti to investigate "Functional Ultrasound imaging as an innovative tool to assess hepatic microcirculation performances during and after liver transplantation procedures." The researchers are confident that functional ultrasound will provide a significant contribution in predicting and preventing microcirculatory dysfunctions during and after liver transplantation. The winner was announced last night at an evening event in Brussels, Belgium.  

The system prototype has previously been optimised for brain imaging. The technology will now be tested with the aim of developing a fast, accurate and non-invasive tool to evaluate the success of liver transplantation procedures. The winning project is a collaboration of investigators from Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan,  Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan,  and Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, Paris.

Dr Federico Esposti said, "To date, a large gap divides what we know about the role of hepatic microcirculation in health and disease and surgical practice. Our idea is to bring an efficient tool for surveying hepatic micro-hemodynamics to the hand of transplant surgeons. We are very grateful to Astellas European Foundation for supporting our research and believing in our project."

The winning project team 

• Dr. Federico Esposti and Professor Antonio Malgaroli, Vita Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy 
• Professor Luciano de Carlis and Dr. Giacomo Concone, Niguarda Ca' Granda Hospital, Milan, Italy
• Dr. Emilie Mace and Dr. Gabriel Montaldo, Centre Hospitalier Sainte-Anne, Paris, France

The Astellas European Foundation is a registered charity with the long-term goal of providing support for programmes and activities that advance our understanding of medicine and health. The winner of the Grant is selected by a Judging Faculty that includes independent European thought leaders.

The Foundation offers annual Grants of $150,000 for Transplantation, Uro-Oncology, and Functional Urology/Uro-Gynaecology.

About The Astellas European Foundation  

The Astellas European Foundation is a registered charity, formed in 2005, with the long-term goal of providing support for programmes and activities that contribute to the advancement of an increasingly healthy society. In line with this aim, the Foundation has made substantial donations to global charities. The Astellas European Foundation also supports Astellas employees in their private fundraising efforts for charitable causes. The Astellas European Foundation is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 1036344.

The Astellas European Foundation was established by funding from Astellas Pharma Inc, but operates independently of it.