Thomas Floyd, MD
Traumatic brain injury, stroke, and cardiac arrest are frequently complicated by impaired blood flow and oxygenation, which may lead to progressive brain injury. Current devices, designed to measure tissue oxygenation, are severely limited in their scope of surveillance and accuracy.
To address this limitation, Thomas Floyd, MD, a professor in Department of Anesthesiology, and his collaborators, have developed a minimally invasive, subdural, surface-applied brain device capable of monitoring brain blood flow and oxygenation. Up to three probes can be deployed through a single-entry point or burr hole, to allow for the monitoring of multiple brain regions simultaneously. The new device employs diffuse optical and correlation spectroscopies and may offer markedly improved sensitivity and specificity compared to current technologies.
Dr. Floyd’s research is backed by a five-year, $5.7 million UG3 grant from the NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). The first three years of the research is aimed at finalizing development of the device and gaining FDA approval. His work on the device began at the University of Texas before he joined UVA in April 2024. Now in year two of the project, he is focusing the remaining $3.8 million of the NINDS award on research he is conducting at UVA, with plans for clinical trials in the final years of the grant. If all phases of his research go as expected, the award will be part of a larger projected $9.8 million budget and award for this research.
More About the Floyd Lab
Dr. Floyd’s laboratory marries the expertise of physicists, anesthesiologists, neurosurgeons, neurologists, orthopedic spine surgeons, vascular and cardiac surgeons, cardiologists, and intensivists to develop novel, minimally invasive optical technologies to allow for the monitoring and prevention or management of both brain and spinal cord ischemia.
As a cardiothoracic and vascular anesthesiologist, Dr. Floyd’s became interested in this area of research due to the life-altering complications of stroke and paralysis that can infrequently, but critically impact both survival and quality of life in some patients. In his lab, Dr. Floyd emphasizes the importance of teamwork with the many physicians they work alongside, to develop devices that meet their needs.
Acute spinal cord ischemia can result in paralysis after aortic repairs. In this arena, Dr. Floyd is also collaborating with Behzad S. Farivar, MD, in the Department of Surgery Division of Vascular & Endovascular Surgery, to finalize the development and human testing of a percutaneously placed epidural device that allows for the immediate detection of spinal cord ischemia during aortic stenting. This device scans multiple levels of the spinal cord simultaneously, offering the ability for anatomic localization of the level at which the ischemia is originating and may therefore assist the vascular surgeon in critical decisions during stent deployment. It may also better guide vascular surgeons and neurointensivists in optimizing recovery of spinal cord function after surgery.
While none of these devices will cure any of these devastating injuries, the Floyd lab is optimistic that they will minimize the extent of these injuries and improve quality of life for patients.
Filed Under: Research