🩸 IDEATHON: BLOOD CLOT DETECTION IN LIMBS

Using Ultrasound Transducer (UST) + Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) with Real-Time Visualization

🔴 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Core Problem: There is NO affordable, portable, non-invasive, real-time dual-modality device that can simultaneously detect a blood clot in limb vessels AND assess the oxygen deprivation in surrounding tissues - at the point of care.

🟢 SOLUTION

"CLOTVIEW" - A Dual-Modality Portable Device combining UST + NIRS for Limb Blood Clot Visualization

How It Works - The Two-Layer Detection Principle

• Emits high-frequency sound waves (5-15 MHz) into the arm or leg
• Detects structural blockage inside veins (femoral, popliteal, brachial, radial veins)
• A clot appears as a hyperechoic (bright) non-compressible mass within the vessel lumen
• Compression test performed digitally - if vein does NOT collapse = clot confirmed

• Emits NIR light (700-900 nm wavelength) through the skin of the limb
• Measures oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) vs deoxyhemoglobin (HHb) ratio in surrounding tissue
• A clot causes downstream tissue hypoxia - NIRS detects the oxygen drop as a real-time signal
• Clot-affected tissue shows ↓ StO2 (tissue oxygen saturation) compared to the healthy contralateral limb

Visualization System

ARM / LEG SCAN
      |
  ┌───┴────────────────────────┐
  │  UST Probe + NIRS Sensor   │ ← wearable wrap-around cuff
  │  placed on limb surface    │
  └───┬────────────────────────┘
      |
  ┌───▼─────────────────────────────────────┐
  │         DUAL DISPLAY SCREEN             │
  │                                         │
  │  [LEFT PANEL - UST]  [RIGHT PANEL-NIRS] │
  │  B-Mode vein image   Heatmap of StO2    │
  │  Clot = bright mass  Clot zone = BLUE   │
  │  Normal = black      Normal = RED/GREEN │
  └─────────────────────────────────────────┘
            |
     AI-Assisted Alert:
  "HIGH PROBABILITY DVT - LEFT POPLITEAL VEIN"

Key Features of the Solution

Why UST + NIRS Together? (The Innovation)

UST alone    →  Tells WHERE the clot is (anatomy)
NIRS alone   →  Tells WHAT the clot is doing (physiology)
UST + NIRS   →  Complete picture: location + severity + tissue damage

• A fresh clot (acute) = UST shows soft mass + NIRS shows sharp StO2 drop
• An old clot (chronic) = UST shows calcified mass + NIRS shows moderate StO2 drop
• No clot = UST shows compressible vein + NIRS shows normal symmetric StO2

Target Users

• Emergency rooms and ICUs
• Rural healthcare workers (minimal training required)
• Sports medicine (athlete DVT screening post-injury)
• Post-surgical wards (orthopedic, cardiac)
• Airport medical stations (economy class syndrome - DVT after long flights)

Impact

1 device. 2 technologies. Real-time visualization. Lives saved.

• Early detection reduces Pulmonary Embolism deaths
• Eliminates need for D-dimer + Doppler ultrasound separately
• Reduces diagnosis time from hours to under 5 minutes
• Affordable enough for Tier 2/Tier 3 hospitals and field deployment

BLOOD CLOT DETECTION IN ARMS & LEGS

UST + Near-Infrared Spectroscopy | Ideathon Presentation

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• No affordable, portable, point-of-care device exists that can detect limb blood clots in real-time with visual confirmation
• Current methods (Doppler ultrasound, MRI, D-dimer test) are expensive, slow, and require specialist operators
• Existing ultrasound alone gives only structural data - it cannot tell how badly the clot is starving the surrounding tissue of oxygen
• Patients in rural areas, ambulances, and small clinics have zero access to timely clot diagnosis
• Misdiagnosis due to overlapping symptoms (swelling, pain) costs lives every day

"A blood clot undetected for even a few hours can travel to the lungs and kill. We need a faster, smarter, visual way to catch it - right at the bedside."

SOLUTION

CLOTVIEW - UST + NIRS Dual-Mode Limb Scanner

• Sends sound waves into the limb to image the veins
• Detects the physical clot as a bright, non-compressible block inside the vessel

• Shines NIR light (700-900 nm) through the skin
• Measures tissue oxygen levels downstream of the clot
• A clot = oxygen drop = NIRS detects it instantly

• Side-by-side display: UST vein image + NIRS oxygen heatmap
• Clot zones appear BLUE on the heatmap, healthy tissue appears GREEN/RED
• AI gives instant probability score: "DVT probability: 87% - Left Leg Popliteal Vein"

Why This Works Better

One Line Summary

UST shows WHERE the clot is. NIRS shows WHAT it is doing to the tissue. Together - fast, visual, accurate clot detection in arms and legs at the point of care.

🔵 STRONG & DIRECT

1. CLOTVIEW - Real-Time Blood Clot Detection in Limbs Using UST + NIRS
2. Dual-Mode Limb Scanner for Blood Clot Detection
3. UST + NIRS: A Smart Approach to DVT Detection in Arms and Legs

🟣 IMPACTFUL & CATCHY

1. See the Clot Before It Kills
2. Catch the Clot - A Portable Dual-Modality Detection System
3. VeinAlert - Non-Invasive Blood Clot Visualization for Limbs
4. LightScan - Detecting What Ultrasound Alone Cannot

🟢 TECHNICAL & PROFESSIONAL

1. Non-Invasive DVT Detection Using Integrated Ultrasound and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
2. Multimodal Blood Clot Detection: Combining Acoustic and Optical Sensing in Limbs
3. Real-Time Thrombus Visualization in Upper and Lower Extremities via UST-NIRS Fusion

⭐ TOP RECOMMENDATION FOR IDEATHON

"CLOTVIEW - Catching Blood Clots in Limbs Through UST + NIRS Visualization"

• Simple, memorable, explains the idea instantly
• Works well on a presentation slide header
• Sounds like a real product name - judges will remember it

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• No affordable, portable, point-of-care device exists that can detect limb blood clots in real-time with visual confirmation
• Current methods are expensive, slow, and require specialist operators → Existing detection relies heavily on clinical symptoms alone - swelling, pain, redness - which are non-specific and often missed or misread by frontline staff
• Existing ultrasound alone gives only structural data → There is no single device that combines both vessel imaging AND tissue oxygen assessment together - forcing clinicians to use multiple separate tools or skip assessment entirely
• Patients in rural areas have zero access → In emergency settings, sports fields, ambulances, and remote clinics - no rapid limb clot screening tool is available at the point of care
• Misdiagnosis due to overlapping symptoms (swelling, pain) costs lives every day

"A blood clot undetected for even a few hours can travel to the lungs and kill. We need a faster, smarter, visual way to catch it - right at the bedside."

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• No affordable, portable, point-of-care device exists that can detect limb blood clots in real-time with visual confirmation
• Existing detection relies heavily on clinical symptoms alone - swelling, pain, redness - which are non-specific and frequently misread by frontline staff, leading to dangerous delays
• There is no single device that combines both vessel imaging AND tissue oxygen assessment together - forcing clinicians to use multiple separate tools or skip assessment entirely in time-critical situations
• In emergency settings, sports fields, ambulances, and remote clinics - no rapid limb clot screening tool is available at the point of care
• Misdiagnosis due to overlapping symptoms costs lives every day - a clot undetected for even a few hours can travel to the lungs and kill

"We need a faster, smarter, visual way to catch blood clots in arms and legs - right at the point of care."

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• No affordable, portable, point-of-care device exists that can detect limb blood clots in real-time with visual confirmation
• Existing detection relies heavily on clinical symptoms alone - swelling, pain, redness - which are non-specific and frequently misread, leading to dangerous delays
• Current diagnostic tools like Doppler ultrasound and MRI require trained medical professionals to operate, interpret, and conclude - making detection impossible without specialist availability
• There is no single device that combines both vessel imaging AND tissue oxygen assessment - forcing clinicians to use multiple separate tools or skip assessment entirely
• In emergency settings, sports fields, ambulances, and remote clinics - no rapid limb clot screening tool is available without a specialist present
• This dependency on professionals means patients in rural areas, night shifts, and resource-limited settings are left completely unscreened

"Blood clot detection today is slow, specialist-dependent, and inaccessible. A patient should not have to wait for a doctor to tell them their limb has a clot that could kill them."

• Still need a trained sonographer or radiologist to:
  • Place the probe correctly on the vein
  • Interpret the B-mode image
  • Distinguish a clot from other tissue
  • Read the spectroscopy values accurately
• A 2-month-old clot (chronic thrombus) is even harder to detect because:
  • It becomes echogenic (similar brightness to surrounding tissue) - easy to miss on UST
  • NIRS/IR readings normalize over time as collateral circulation develops
  • Only an experienced professional can spot the subtle difference
• So even with UST + IR technology already existing for months or years - professionals are still mandatory because:
  • No automated interpretation exists in current devices
  • Probe placement errors give false results
  • Chronic clots look very different from acute clots on imaging

The problem is NOT that the technology doesn't exist - the problem is that existing UST + NIRS devices still require professionals to operate and interpret them. Your solution adds AI-assisted automated visualization and scoring so that even a non-specialist can get a reliable result.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• Blood clot detection in limbs currently depends on Doppler Ultrasound and Infrared-based devices - but these technologies, even when available, cannot be used without a trained medical professional
• A skilled sonographer or radiologist is required to correctly place the probe, interpret the image, and distinguish a clot from surrounding tissue - making detection impossible in the absence of a specialist
• Chronic clots (2+ months old) are even harder to detect - they become echogenic (blend with tissue on UST) and NIRS readings normalize as the body adapts - meaning even professionals can miss them without careful analysis
• In emergency settings, ambulances, rural clinics, sports fields, and night shifts - a qualified specialist is rarely available, leaving patients completely unscreened
• Current devices produce raw imaging and spectroscopy data with no automated interpretation - every reading requires expert human judgment to translate into a diagnosis
• This gap between available technology and accessible diagnosis means patients lose critical time, and clots go undetected until symptoms become severe or fatal

"The technology to detect blood clots in limbs exists - but it is locked behind specialist dependency. The real problem is making that detection automatic, visual, and accessible to everyone."

PROBLEM STATEMENT

• 1 in 3 patients who suffer a Pulmonary Embolism had an undetected DVT in their limbs
• Detection today requires hospital visits, specialist doctors, expensive imaging machines - not available to everyone
• Patients in rural areas, sports grounds, ambulances, and remote clinics have no way to get screened for a limb blood clot on time
• Symptoms are invisible or misleading - leg pain and swelling are mistaken for muscle cramps or injuries, delaying diagnosis by days or weeks
• Even when technology like ultrasound exists, it cannot be operated without a trained professional - making early detection impossible at the point of emergency
• Every hour of delay increases the risk of permanent limb damage, organ failure, or death

"Thousands of people die every year not because blood clot detection is impossible - but because it is not accessible, not fast enough, and not available without a specialist."

PROBLEM STATEMENT SLIDE

Bottom Line: The technology exists - but it is slow, specialist-dependent, and inaccessible when it matters most.

• Short enough for a PPT slide
• Each point is a separate real-world problem
• Naturally leads the audience to need YOUR solution - CLOTVIEW

UNDERSTAND THIS FIRST

WORLD PROBLEM  →  YOUR DEVICE SOLVES IT

PROBLEM STATEMENT FOR PPT

These 5 problems = exactly what CLOTVIEW addresses using UST + NIRS visualization.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Silent Threat in Our Arms and Legs

Why Detection Fails Today

The problem is not the absence of technology. The problem is that what exists today is slow, inaccessible, specialist-dependent, and gives no real-time visual picture of what is happening inside the limb.