Dr. Greg Diette (far right), BEAR Cage co-chair and Drug Device Discovery and Development Committee vice chair, congratulates BEAR Cage finalists, from left, Scott M. Gordon, PhD, Adrienne Campbell-Washburn, PhD (winner), and Jasleen Pannu, MD.

Adrienne Campbell-Washburn, PhD, of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, won $10,000 in the fifth annual ATS BEAR Cage competition for her invention of a functional lung MRI.

Three finalists presented their products Monday afternoon to a panel of judges, who ultimately awarded the grand prize to Dr. Campbell-Washburn. Also pitching their inventions were Scott M. Gordon, PhD, of University of Kentucky, who is working to target pulmonary protease activity with an HDL-binding protease inhibitor peptide, and Jasleen Pannu, MD, of Ohio State University, who is inventing a steerable electromagnetic navigation guide endobronchial radial ultrasound with a biopsy needle.

Winner Dr. Campbell-Washington said her MRI system is a whole new ballgame for imaging. “It’s a lower field but maintains its high performance,” she said. “We’re using it to enable improved lung imaging in addition to MRI-guided catherization and cardiac imaging. This will allow us to get imaging of lung anatomy as well as ventilation, perfusion, tissue characterization, and blood oxygenation all in a single exam. It’s ionizing radiation-free, and it’s low cost and, therefore, accessible.”