NWO Open Competition Domain Science-XS Grant

July 9, 2026: The Dutch Research Council has granted our proposal “Tackling Cardiovascular Diseases: Reading Blood Clot Microstructure with Back-Scattered Light”. In this project, we want to explore the use of backscattered light microscopy for analyzing the microstructure of intact blood clots, making time-consuming sectioning or expensive hardware obsolete. If successful, our project will provide a fast, low-cost method for quantifying microstructure and predicting the mechanical behavior of blood clots, eventually improving the treatment of life-threatening diseases like heart attack or stroke.

Abstract

Heart attack and stroke are major causes of death. They are caused by blood clots, consisting of platelets, red blood cells, and fibrin (protein meshes). The internal microstructure determines treatment success: clots with many red blood cells behave differently from dense fibrin networks. However, mapping the clot microstructure currently requires sectioning followed by slow, expensive imaging. This project explores the use of a novel backscattered-light microscopy technique (requiring only a camera and LED-light) to map microstructure of intact fresh clots. If successful, this will enable rapid, low-cost, and non-destructive assessment of blood clots, ultimately improving the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.