E-Mail IMAGE: A miniature ultrasound device (inset) is placed directly over a patient's spleen, directing low-intensity sound waves at the organ to potentially reduce severe inflammation associated with COVID-19 infection.... view more Credit: Photo courtesy of SecondWave Systems. Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have begun a pilot clinical trial to test the efficacy of using ultrasound to stimulate the spleen and reduce COVID-19-related inflammation, decreasing the length of hospital stays. "It's a pilot study to evaluate whether ultrasound stimulation focused on the spleen can reduce inflammatory biomarkers in hospital patients infected with SARS-CoV-2," said Imanuel Lerman, MD, associate professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and an affiliate of Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego, where his lab is based. "This will allow us to determine whether treating patients this way can really affect clinical outcomes in COVID-19 infections."