SUMMARY
Tobias Kummer, M.D., studies advanced ultrasound applications in emergency and critical care settings. Dr. Kummer's areas of interest include contrast-enhanced ultrasound, sonothrombolysis, resuscitative echocardiography and ultrasound acoustics. At Mayo Clinic, he leads a multidisciplinary team developing new contrast ultrasound imaging protocols. Dr. Kummer investigates microbubble-based diagnostic and therapeutic applications. He also advances bench acoustics research and point-of-care ultrasound for patients who are acutely ill or injured.
Focus areas
- Contrast-enhanced ultrasound in acute trauma and organ perfusion. Dr. Kummer develops protocols to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of contrast-enhanced ultrasound. His research includes rapid detection of abdominal organ injuries, intra-abdominal bleeding and tissue perfusion assessment in acutely injured adult and pediatric patients.
- Sonothrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction. Dr. Kummer investigates ultrasound-enhanced thrombolysis as an adjunct treatment strategy in acute myocardial infarction, including microbubble-assisted acoustic protocols.
- Resuscitative echocardiography. Dr. Kummer investigates the use of point-of-care echocardiography during cardiac arrest resuscitation. His work includes detection of occult ventricular fibrillation, ultrasound-guided pulse checks and echo-informed resuscitation decision-making.
- Ultrasound acoustics and bench research. Through their research, Dr. Kummer and his team characterize ultrasound transducer output, develop phantom models and investigate acoustic parameters relevant to therapeutic and diagnostic ultrasound applications.
- Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia in acutely injured patients. Dr. Kummer is part of a multidisciplinary team investigating ultrasound-guided nerve blocks for early pain control in injured patients. His research includes erector spinae plane blocks for rib fracture analgesia.
- Ultrasound-guided vascular access. Dr. Kummer leads investigations to improve vascular access success rates in patients with failed traditional intravenous access.
Significance to patient care
For patients with serious injuries, quickly finding injuries and bleeding inside the body is key to improving results. Point-of-care ultrasound can help care teams diagnose issues and start treatment faster. Other tests, such as contrast-enhanced ultrasound, can provide bedside imaging that previously required a CT scan.
Sonothrombolysis may provide another way to treat blood clots, including those linked to heart attack, venous thrombosis and blocked arteries. This treatment may help care teams treat blood vessel emergencies more quickly at the bedside. Resuscitative echocardiography allows care teams to check heart function in real time during a heart attack. This test can help find treatable conditions that may not be found with an echocardiogram alone. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia also can provide pain relief while reducing the need for pain medicine.
Professional highlights
- Fellow, Society of Clinical Ultrasound Fellowships, 2024-present.
- American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine:
- Fellow, 2023-present.
- Vice-chair, Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Community of Practice, 2020-present.
- Mayo Clinic:
- Director, Emergency Ultrasound, Department of Emergency Medicine, 2018-present.
- Teacher of the Year Award, Mayo Fellows' Association, 2018, 2026.
- Fellow, American College of Emergency Physicians, 2015-present.