Martine Rothblatt, CEO of Silver Spring-based United Therapeutics, was one at Friday’s public hearing in College Park who favored Miller’s merger proposal. Rothblatt said a merger would give his company an easier time working with UMB and College Park researchers to develop an artificial lung the company is working on, and could save the company years producing one.
For Rothblatt, the scenario seemed clear — work with two “partially capable” partners, or one fully capable partner, he said.
“We can work with two partially capable partners in Baltimore and one in College Park,” Rothblatt said. “I think the job will eventually get done, but it will take longer.
That translates into 10s of thousands of lives.”
Proponents think a merger would form a top-10 research university and could drive additional research dollars to the state.
Showing posts with label artificial lung. Show all posts
Showing posts with label artificial lung. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
about me and this artificial lung blog
I have severe emphysema from smoking for over 40 years, that's why I created this blog.
My hope is to collect any and all info on progress made toward a artificial lung.
Some of the data you may have seen before, but I am only trying to promote wider research on using artificial lung as an option fro lung diseases.
Emphysema is a progressive disease I am am praying that some day I will be able to get an artificial lung.
My hope is to collect any and all info on progress made toward a artificial lung.
Some of the data you may have seen before, but I am only trying to promote wider research on using artificial lung as an option fro lung diseases.
Emphysema is a progressive disease I am am praying that some day I will be able to get an artificial lung.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Video: Artificial Lung May Save Lives During Surgeries
Artificial Lung May Save Lives During Surgeries
Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator for tissue engineering at the Draper Labs, discusses a 1/100 scale prototype of an artificial lung under development by the Center for Integration of Medicine & Innovative Technology.
click to watch a brief video of this artificial ling
http://www.designnews.com/video.asp?section_id=1375&doc_id=
MEMS-Enabled Artificial Lung
MEMS-Enabled Artificial Lung
In a pioneering approach to artificial organ development, engineers at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., are applying semiconductor manufacturing technology to the development of artificial organs such as lungs and kidneys.
Intricate internal structures produced via micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being tested as vascular systems that could oxygenate a person's blood during surgery. They also could function down the road as part of an implantable device.
"This is important because oxygenators currently used during heart surgery use a significant amount of anticoagulants," says Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator in the tissue engineering research being conducted at Draper.
Most artificial lung devices used today consist of hollow, porous fiber bundles inside a hard-shelled jacket. Oxygen is introduced through the fibers and diffused into blood flowing around the fibers. This process often damages the blood for maximum membrane exposure.
Adverse interactions between the blood and device materials such as polyethersulfone may cause clotting. Preventing this requires a high level of anticoagulants, which can cause excessive bleeding and other problems for the patient.
Doctors at leading Boston teaching hospitals approached Borenstein and asked if Draper could research technologies to replace current oxygenating devices. The doctors were part of CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
The idea was that microfabrication technology developed at Draper for sensors used in defense, aerospace, and commercial products such as digital cameras and the Nintendo Wii game controller might help create an artificial lung with microchannels that mimic the blood vessels in human organs.
The blood-side passages in current hollow fiber lung devices are 200-300 microns in diameter, compared with the 5-10 microns for a capillary. MEMS technology allows the creation of channels that are closer in size to the blood vessels found naturally in organs.
The result of Draper's work is a 1/100 scale prototype device that functions like a human lung. Blood enters and is infiltrated with oxygen in a microvascular network before exiting.
The basic techniques borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing are deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography, and etching to produce the required shapes. "That's basically a planar process. The two big challenges we had were transferring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and from inorganic silicon to medical-grade polymers," Borenstein says.
His team is using structures made of silicone rubber in the current prototype. They provide the mechanical strength and flexibility required for the device.
To become implantable, the device would need bioresorbable materials. Those materials would be engineered into a tissue scaffold, which would be seeded with a person's own stem cells and grown into a kidney, a lung, or some other organ. The bioresorbable polymer would disappear after the structure was formed.
Borenstein's work is important in the field of tissue engineering because larger organs such as kidneys and livers require intensive internal vascular structures. But that stage is well down the road.
"Our work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, and for the next phase of development [a device used outside the human body], we are looking for commercial partners," he says. Completion of that phase is very feasible within the next several years, in Borenstein's view.
Other research groups around the world are focusing on other aspects of developing artificial lungs. For example, researchers in Cleveland have developed a prototype artificial lung that functions with air, just like human lungs.
Charles Stark Draper, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formed a lab in the late 1930s to develop instruments to measure aircraft motion. The lab was later named after Draper, and its work advanced to include missile guidance systems, space exploration, advance robotic technologies, and tissue engineering. The lab was spun out of MIT in 1973.
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=232240&f_src=designnews_gnews
click to see a short video amd more info on this approach for a artificial lung
In a pioneering approach to artificial organ development, engineers at Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass., are applying semiconductor manufacturing technology to the development of artificial organs such as lungs and kidneys.
Intricate internal structures produced via micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being tested as vascular systems that could oxygenate a person's blood during surgery. They also could function down the road as part of an implantable device.
"This is important because oxygenators currently used during heart surgery use a significant amount of anticoagulants," says Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, principal investigator in the tissue engineering research being conducted at Draper.
Most artificial lung devices used today consist of hollow, porous fiber bundles inside a hard-shelled jacket. Oxygen is introduced through the fibers and diffused into blood flowing around the fibers. This process often damages the blood for maximum membrane exposure.
Adverse interactions between the blood and device materials such as polyethersulfone may cause clotting. Preventing this requires a high level of anticoagulants, which can cause excessive bleeding and other problems for the patient.
Doctors at leading Boston teaching hospitals approached Borenstein and asked if Draper could research technologies to replace current oxygenating devices. The doctors were part of CIMIT, the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology.
The idea was that microfabrication technology developed at Draper for sensors used in defense, aerospace, and commercial products such as digital cameras and the Nintendo Wii game controller might help create an artificial lung with microchannels that mimic the blood vessels in human organs.
The blood-side passages in current hollow fiber lung devices are 200-300 microns in diameter, compared with the 5-10 microns for a capillary. MEMS technology allows the creation of channels that are closer in size to the blood vessels found naturally in organs.
The result of Draper's work is a 1/100 scale prototype device that functions like a human lung. Blood enters and is infiltrated with oxygen in a microvascular network before exiting.
The basic techniques borrowed from semiconductor manufacturing are deposition of material layers, patterning by photolithography, and etching to produce the required shapes. "That's basically a planar process. The two big challenges we had were transferring from two-dimensional to three-dimensional and from inorganic silicon to medical-grade polymers," Borenstein says.
His team is using structures made of silicone rubber in the current prototype. They provide the mechanical strength and flexibility required for the device.
To become implantable, the device would need bioresorbable materials. Those materials would be engineered into a tissue scaffold, which would be seeded with a person's own stem cells and grown into a kidney, a lung, or some other organ. The bioresorbable polymer would disappear after the structure was formed.
Borenstein's work is important in the field of tissue engineering because larger organs such as kidneys and livers require intensive internal vascular structures. But that stage is well down the road.
"Our work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, and for the next phase of development [a device used outside the human body], we are looking for commercial partners," he says. Completion of that phase is very feasible within the next several years, in Borenstein's view.
Other research groups around the world are focusing on other aspects of developing artificial lungs. For example, researchers in Cleveland have developed a prototype artificial lung that functions with air, just like human lungs.
Charles Stark Draper, an aeronautics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, formed a lab in the late 1930s to develop instruments to measure aircraft motion. The lab was later named after Draper, and its work advanced to include missile guidance systems, space exploration, advance robotic technologies, and tissue engineering. The lab was spun out of MIT in 1973.
http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=232240&f_src=designnews_gnews
click to see a short video amd more info on this approach for a artificial lung
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
Wales: Industry Partnership To Engineer Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
The project, entitled the Development of responsive control systems for an artificial lung, which will allow immobile patients with lung disease to enjoy a better quality of life, has been supported by a £215k grant through the Welsh Government’s Academic Expertise for Business (A4B) programme.
Academics from the University’s College of Engineering have joined forces with Swansea-based companies Haemair Ltd, Haemaflow Ltd, DTR Medical Ltd, and Staffordshire-based EGS Technologies Ltd.
The work builds on the collaboration between the University and the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which has established Swansea as a major centre in the understanding of blood and its properties.
The project’s director Dr Michael Lewis, Senior Lecturer at Swansea University, said,
“Lung disease is a major problem that affects a large number of people, particularly in Wales. Although Extracorporeal Life Support systems – or artificial lungs – can support immobile patients with lung disease, these devices restrict patients to high-dependency units in hospitals.
“This innovative project aims to develop a prototype small-scale respiratory aid, which is capable of regulating blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in response to patients’ different metabolic requirements – ultimately allowing them to enjoy a better quality of life.”
Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science described the project as a prime example of the highly innovative collaborative research and development activities taking place in Welsh universities.
“This device has the potential to have a real impact on the lives of many people while the collaboration supports local business. In the longer term, high profile projects of this calibre can help promote the capabilities of Welsh universities and research centres internationally.”
The project has two closely related aims, both of which relate primarily to blood oxygenation by direct blood/air mass exchange.
The first aim is to develop an automated control system for a respiratory aid, which is capable of modifying blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in order to meet the changing requirements of active patients.
The second aim is to study the distribution of blood flow through small-scale prototype respiratory aids.
In contrast to existing devices, the aim is to produce a respiratory aid that does not set pre-specified blood gas compositions. Instead, this innovation will adjust gas compositions to changing metabolic demands.
“The project will enable respiratory aids to mimic the performance of healthy lungs,” added Dr Michael Kingsley, Senior Lecturer and Research Supervisor on the project.
“This will mean in future, patients with lung disease will no longer be restricted to being treated within high-dependency units.”
Professor P Rhodri Williams leads the team from the University’s Complex Fluids group, which will study the detailed blood flow pattern within the device.
He said,
“A deeper understanding of these flows is needed both to maximise the controllability of the device and to minimise the risk of blood clots forming in the device. This study has wider applications to other medical devices that contact blood.”
Professor Bill Johns of Haemair Ltd said: “This project builds on five years of fruitful collaboration between Haemair, Swansea University and Professor Adrian Evans and his colleagues at the Morriston Hospital. A successful outcome should help us ensure both the safety and effectiveness of our artificial lung.”
Dr Dale Rogers of Haemaflow Ltd said,
“The work will provide an ideal test bed for the company’s novel instruments for measuring blood gases. The instruments will help the project and the project will give Haemaflow the experience to evolve designs for a wide range of potential applications in Medicine and Sports Science.”
The project is currently seeking volunteers to take part in the cardiovascular assessment stage of the research. Participants will need to be aged between 18 and 58 years and generally healthy, with no history of cardiovascular problems.
Participation will involve visiting the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Swansea University on four separate occasions for a complete cardio respiratory assessment. All volunteers will be provided with copies of their results.
Source: click to learn more on this progress toward a artifival lung
Wales: Industry Partnership To Engineer Respiratory Aids Which ‘Mimic’ Healthy Lungs
A collaborative two-year project between Swansea University’s College of Engineering and industry is helping to develop respiratory aids which mimic the performance of healthy lungs.
Academics from the University’s College of Engineering have joined forces with Swansea-based companies Haemair Ltd, Haemaflow Ltd, DTR Medical Ltd, and Staffordshire-based EGS Technologies Ltd.
The work builds on the collaboration between the University and the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board, which has established Swansea as a major centre in the understanding of blood and its properties.
The project’s director Dr Michael Lewis, Senior Lecturer at Swansea University, said,
“Lung disease is a major problem that affects a large number of people, particularly in Wales. Although Extracorporeal Life Support systems – or artificial lungs – can support immobile patients with lung disease, these devices restrict patients to high-dependency units in hospitals.
“This innovative project aims to develop a prototype small-scale respiratory aid, which is capable of regulating blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in response to patients’ different metabolic requirements – ultimately allowing them to enjoy a better quality of life.”
Edwina Hart, Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science described the project as a prime example of the highly innovative collaborative research and development activities taking place in Welsh universities.
“This device has the potential to have a real impact on the lives of many people while the collaboration supports local business. In the longer term, high profile projects of this calibre can help promote the capabilities of Welsh universities and research centres internationally.”
The project has two closely related aims, both of which relate primarily to blood oxygenation by direct blood/air mass exchange.
The first aim is to develop an automated control system for a respiratory aid, which is capable of modifying blood oxygenation and carbon dioxide removal, in order to meet the changing requirements of active patients.
The second aim is to study the distribution of blood flow through small-scale prototype respiratory aids.
In contrast to existing devices, the aim is to produce a respiratory aid that does not set pre-specified blood gas compositions. Instead, this innovation will adjust gas compositions to changing metabolic demands.
“The project will enable respiratory aids to mimic the performance of healthy lungs,” added Dr Michael Kingsley, Senior Lecturer and Research Supervisor on the project.
“This will mean in future, patients with lung disease will no longer be restricted to being treated within high-dependency units.”
Professor P Rhodri Williams leads the team from the University’s Complex Fluids group, which will study the detailed blood flow pattern within the device.
He said,
“A deeper understanding of these flows is needed both to maximise the controllability of the device and to minimise the risk of blood clots forming in the device. This study has wider applications to other medical devices that contact blood.”
Professor Bill Johns of Haemair Ltd said: “This project builds on five years of fruitful collaboration between Haemair, Swansea University and Professor Adrian Evans and his colleagues at the Morriston Hospital. A successful outcome should help us ensure both the safety and effectiveness of our artificial lung.”
Dr Dale Rogers of Haemaflow Ltd said,
“The work will provide an ideal test bed for the company’s novel instruments for measuring blood gases. The instruments will help the project and the project will give Haemaflow the experience to evolve designs for a wide range of potential applications in Medicine and Sports Science.”
The project is currently seeking volunteers to take part in the cardiovascular assessment stage of the research. Participants will need to be aged between 18 and 58 years and generally healthy, with no history of cardiovascular problems.
Participation will involve visiting the Exercise Physiology Laboratory at Swansea University on four separate occasions for a complete cardio respiratory assessment. All volunteers will be provided with copies of their results.
Source: click to learn more on this progress toward a artifival lung
Friday, July 15, 2011
Progress made toward a artificial lung device
No more oxygen for artificial lung
14 July 2011
US scientists have mimicked the structure of a lung to make a device that can use air as a ventilating gas instead of pure oxygen. The invention could mean that oxygen cylinders to accompany artificial lung devices for lung disease patients are a thing of the past and implantable devices could be a step closer.
Joseph Potkay from Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre and co-workers fashioned microfluidic channels from the polymer polydimethylsiloxane and made them branch into smaller channels and then into artificial capillaries, similar to the arteries and capillaries in a real lung. They added blood and air flow outlets and inlets and coated all the channels in a polydimethylsiloxane gas exchange membrane.
The team tested the device with pig blood. As the blood flowed through the device from the blood inlet, they fed air into the air inlet and as it travelled along the channels, oxygen molecules diffused across the gas exchange membrane into the blood on the way to the blood outlet. Meanwhile, blood coming from the inlet would be rich in carbon dioxide, which would diffuse across the membrane and travel to the air outlet.
They found that the device 'exhibited larger oxygen exchange efficiencies than current devices in which pure oxygen is needed, enabling air to be used as the ventilating gas,' says Potkay. The oxygen exchange efficiency is three to five times better than current artificial lung devices owing to the small, micron-scale, blood and air channels. This is the first demonstration that features as small as those found in the lungs are effective.
At the moment, lung disease patients in need of respiratory support rely on mechanical ventilators in which blood from the patient is circulated through a machine to oxygenate it. As Jeffrey Borenstein, an expert in microsystems technology and biomedical devices at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, US, points out: 'Current technology involves complex systems that are limited to intensive care units, so Potkay's device has the potential to provide clinically relevant oxygenation levels using ambient air, opening the door to portable systems.'
The team aims to improve their device's blood compatibility and scale it up so it can deliver enough oxygen to be suitable for humans.
Holly Sheahan
click for more info at Chemistry World
Joseph Potkay from Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Centre and co-workers fashioned microfluidic channels from the polymer polydimethylsiloxane and made them branch into smaller channels and then into artificial capillaries, similar to the arteries and capillaries in a real lung. They added blood and air flow outlets and inlets and coated all the channels in a polydimethylsiloxane gas exchange membrane.
The team tested the device with pig blood. As the blood flowed through the device from the blood inlet, they fed air into the air inlet and as it travelled along the channels, oxygen molecules diffused across the gas exchange membrane into the blood on the way to the blood outlet. Meanwhile, blood coming from the inlet would be rich in carbon dioxide, which would diffuse across the membrane and travel to the air outlet.
They found that the device 'exhibited larger oxygen exchange efficiencies than current devices in which pure oxygen is needed, enabling air to be used as the ventilating gas,' says Potkay. The oxygen exchange efficiency is three to five times better than current artificial lung devices owing to the small, micron-scale, blood and air channels. This is the first demonstration that features as small as those found in the lungs are effective.
The artificial lung device consists of small microfluidic channels, similar in size to blood vessels in real lungs, with a membrane for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange |
At the moment, lung disease patients in need of respiratory support rely on mechanical ventilators in which blood from the patient is circulated through a machine to oxygenate it. As Jeffrey Borenstein, an expert in microsystems technology and biomedical devices at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, US, points out: 'Current technology involves complex systems that are limited to intensive care units, so Potkay's device has the potential to provide clinically relevant oxygenation levels using ambient air, opening the door to portable systems.'
The team aims to improve their device's blood compatibility and scale it up so it can deliver enough oxygen to be suitable for humans.
Holly Sheahan
click for more info at Chemistry World
Thursday, July 14, 2011
quick video on new artificial lung QUADROX used on a baby in Michigan
Newborn is First to Receive Artificial Lung at St. Louis Children's Hospital
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_7SFDl_C2IQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
link to new artificial lung Quadrox
<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_7SFDl_C2IQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
link to new artificial lung Quadrox
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Lanka opens research, manufacturing unit for respiratory care
Lanka opens research, manufacturing unit for respiratory care
Akbar Pharmaceuticals, for the first time in Sri Lank inaugurated a fully equipped formulation development and manufacturing facility for respiratory care.
"Considerable investment in equipment has resulted in a state of the art facility. Among many expensive research and testing equipment installed at the ‘LINA’ formulation development and manufacturing facility for respiratory care located at Borupana Road, Ratmalana, is an artificial lung used for testing how deeply medication penetrates the lung when using inhalers and other delivery devices. A research and formulation team headed by the pioneer of development formulation for respiratory care Dr. Anil Gunathilake handles the sophisticated equipment in a sterile, climatically controlled environment, the company said in a statement.
The unit’s focus would be to produce pharmaceuticals to highest international standards while reducing the cost burden on patients, it said.
"Given the extraordinary concessions offered in the budget of 2011 for companies undertaking research, the company believes Sri Lanka’s national policy envisions promotion of such initiatives, convinced that its stated objective of building confidence in the minds of the Sri Lankan people about the quality of products made right here in this country can be achieved before long," it said
see more at
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=22354
Akbar Pharmaceuticals, for the first time in Sri Lank inaugurated a fully equipped formulation development and manufacturing facility for respiratory care.
"Considerable investment in equipment has resulted in a state of the art facility. Among many expensive research and testing equipment installed at the ‘LINA’ formulation development and manufacturing facility for respiratory care located at Borupana Road, Ratmalana, is an artificial lung used for testing how deeply medication penetrates the lung when using inhalers and other delivery devices. A research and formulation team headed by the pioneer of development formulation for respiratory care Dr. Anil Gunathilake handles the sophisticated equipment in a sterile, climatically controlled environment, the company said in a statement.
The unit’s focus would be to produce pharmaceuticals to highest international standards while reducing the cost burden on patients, it said.
"Given the extraordinary concessions offered in the budget of 2011 for companies undertaking research, the company believes Sri Lanka’s national policy envisions promotion of such initiatives, convinced that its stated objective of building confidence in the minds of the Sri Lankan people about the quality of products made right here in this country can be achieved before long," it said
see more at
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=22354
Thursday, March 31, 2011
gas exchange in the artificial lung
iLA Membrane Ventilator
A special hollow-fiber membrane assumes the function of pulmonary alveoli.
Effective and reliable: the iLA Membrane Ventilator® (Source: Novalung Support Registry 2008)
The iLA Membrane Ventilator® is the first artificial lung that breathes for the patient outside the body. It removes carbon dioxide outside of the lung, and is perfused by the heart like a natural organ. This relieves the patient’s lung by providing gas exchange support and reducing the workload for the breathing pump. The lung is given “Time to Heal“®.
The iLA Membrane Ventilator® is sometimes referred to in scientific articles as “pecla“ (pumpless extracorporeal lung assist) or ”AVCO2R“ (arterio-venous CO2 removal).
The iLA Membrane Ventilator® is sometimes referred to in scientific articles as “pecla“ (pumpless extracorporeal lung assist) or ”AVCO2R“ (arterio-venous CO2 removal).
Gas exchange via artificial alveoles
.jpg "iLA Membrane Ventilator")
A hollow-fiber membrane is responsible for gas exchange in the artificial lung, which measures only 14 by 14 cm, supporting or even replacing mechanical ventilation. The iLA Membrane Ventilator® is connected to the patient via two NovaPort® femoral cannulas in an arterio-venous circuit. The absence of a mechanical blood pump reduces the risk of inflammatory reactions.
How it works: effective and reliable
The iLA Membrane Ventilator® incorporates a heparin-coated hollow-fiber diffusion membrane and removes carbon dioxide effectively and reliably in a very short period of time to achieve the desired target, using low blood flows of approx. 1 L/min. This extrapulmonary ventilation can be controlled via the sweep gas flow. In cases of respiratory acidosis the pH is generally returned to normal physiological levels within a few hours. This can help protect the kidney and other organs and prevent multi-organ failure.
Easy to use and easy to care for
Positioning therapy and initial mobilization are possible with the iLA Membrane Ventilator thanks to the 360° rotating curve connectors. It is also been used for both inter-hospital and intra-hospital transport. The iLA Membrane Ventilator® was developed for temporary use in intensive-care patients and is approved in Europe for up to 29 days.
click to see the NovaLung official site
Friday, December 24, 2010
Photo of a ALung / HemoLung
Pete DeComo, chief executive officer, and Nick Kuhn, chief operating officer of ALung, show off their HemoLung respiratory-assist device that works as an artificial lung for medical patients.
see more info at
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10005/1025746-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml#ixzz195CbJVwV
see more info at
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10005/1025746-114.stm?cmpid=news.xml#ixzz195CbJVwV
Friday, December 17, 2010
Lung Oxygen Measurement / artifical lung
An artificial lung for humans and other mammals inserted within the body or placed externally. The artificial lung comprises an electrically actuated three-way valve, a casing containing parallel loops of oxygenator tubes for oxygenation of blood by an atmosphere of circulating air, and an air circulation driving fan powered by an energizing system. As a safety factor in the event of leakage in the casing, a check valve is inserted in an effluent blood duct from the casing to the aerated effluent blood. Two artificial lungs can be utilized internally as left and right lungs.
Artificial lung device United States Patent 6723132
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Development of the Artificial Lung Zwischenberger
Zwischenberger- Development of the Artificial Lung
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Artificial Lung Closer to Clinical Trial ?
Artificial Lung Closer to Clinical Trial
Clinical Trials
After nearly a decade at the drawing board, "We are looking at what we consider final design changes," Merz says. Clinical trials may get under way in one to two years. The National Institutes of Health recently granted Bartlett $4.8 million to continue the research.
Early animal studies have been promising. In the latest study, University of Texas researcher Joseph Zwischenberger, MD, tried out the BioLung on sheep whose lungs had been badly burned by inhaling smoke. Six of the eight sheep on the BioLung survived five days, whereas only one of six sheep on an external breathing machine survived that long.
Meanwhile, Bartlett has been testing the waters for future human trials. "What we wanted to do was see what the transplantation centers were thinking," he says. So he sent them a survey.
Thirty-one transplant centers completed the survey -- and those were responsible for 72% of all lung transplants in the United States in 1999. Most said they would like to see the BioLung studied in fewer than 25 animals for 30 days before beginning to test the device on humans. Almost all of them said they would support and participate in a clinical trial.
"The FDA would have the final word," Bartlett says. "This is just a start."
A one-month study on two dozen animals may seem hasty, but the situation is dire. Last year, 1,054 people received lung transplants, but 477 died on the waiting list. As of August this year, 3,797 people were still waiting to be matched to a donor.
Most of the transplant centers that responded to Bartlett's survey said the device should be tested first on people with idiopathic (meaning "of unknown cause") pulmonary fibrosis. Among the sickest of these patients, few survive longer than three months.
see more info at
http://www.webmd.com/lung/features/artificial-lung-closer-to-clinical-trial?page=2
Clinical Trials
After nearly a decade at the drawing board, "We are looking at what we consider final design changes," Merz says. Clinical trials may get under way in one to two years. The National Institutes of Health recently granted Bartlett $4.8 million to continue the research.
Early animal studies have been promising. In the latest study, University of Texas researcher Joseph Zwischenberger, MD, tried out the BioLung on sheep whose lungs had been badly burned by inhaling smoke. Six of the eight sheep on the BioLung survived five days, whereas only one of six sheep on an external breathing machine survived that long.
Meanwhile, Bartlett has been testing the waters for future human trials. "What we wanted to do was see what the transplantation centers were thinking," he says. So he sent them a survey.
Thirty-one transplant centers completed the survey -- and those were responsible for 72% of all lung transplants in the United States in 1999. Most said they would like to see the BioLung studied in fewer than 25 animals for 30 days before beginning to test the device on humans. Almost all of them said they would support and participate in a clinical trial.
"The FDA would have the final word," Bartlett says. "This is just a start."
A one-month study on two dozen animals may seem hasty, but the situation is dire. Last year, 1,054 people received lung transplants, but 477 died on the waiting list. As of August this year, 3,797 people were still waiting to be matched to a donor.
Most of the transplant centers that responded to Bartlett's survey said the device should be tested first on people with idiopathic (meaning "of unknown cause") pulmonary fibrosis. Among the sickest of these patients, few survive longer than three months.
see more info at
http://www.webmd.com/lung/features/artificial-lung-closer-to-clinical-trial?page=2
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Making a Lung Replacement
Making a Lung Replacement
National Institutes of Health Research Matters
Hot on the heels of progress toward a liver transplant substitute, researchers have made transplantable lung grafts for rats. The accomplishment could pave the way for the development of an engineered human lung.
Lungs have a limited ability to regenerate. The primary therapy for severely damaged lungs is currently lung transplantation—surgery to remove the lung and replace it with a healthy lung from a deceased donor. However, lung transplants are limited by the small number of donor organs available—not much more than 1,000 per year.
To be successful, an artificial lung would need to retain the complex branching geometry of the lung’s airways. It would also require a large network of small blood vessels to transport oxygen and nutrients throughout the structure. Decellularization—the process of removing cells from a structure but leaving a scaffold with the architecture of the original tissue—has shown some success in other organs, including heart and liver. A team of researchers led by Dr. Laura Niklason of Yale University set out to build on this recent progress and develop a similar approach for lungs. Their work was supported by NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
The researchers harvested lungs from adult rats. Treating the lungs with a mild detergent solution for 2 to 3 hours removed the cells but left the lung architecture intact, as reported in the early online edition of Science on June 24, 2010. A careful analysis showed that a matrix of proteins remained behind to hold the lung’s shape.
To see if they could repopulate the matrix with cells and engineer a functional lung, the researchers injected endothelial cells into the blood vessels and epithelial cells into airways. They kept the matrix for up to 8 days in a novel bioreactor that was designed to mimic the pressure changes and ventilation a lung would experience. The researchers found that the cells reseeded the surfaces of the matrix in their appropriate locations. This finding suggests that the decellularized matrix maintains cues for the cells to attach and thrive.
The researchers tested the engineered lungs in rats for short time intervals (45-120 min) and found that the lungs inflated with air, with only some modest bleeding into airways. Most importantly, the lungs successfully exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide like natural lungs.
To see whether their method might apply to human tissues, the researchers got human lung segments from a tissue bank. They were able to decellularize the tissues while preserving their architecture. They then reseeded the matrices with epithelial and endothelial cells and found that they adhered at their appropriate locations. This result supports the idea that the approach holds promise for human lung tissue.
“We succeeded in engineering an implantable lung in our rat model that could efficiently exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and could oxygenate hemoglobin in the blood. This is an early step in the regeneration of entire lungs for larger animals and, eventually, for humans,” says Niklason. She notes that years of research with adult stem cells will likely be needed to develop ways to repopulate lung matrices and produce fully functional lungs for people.
—by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.
Related Links:
Lung Transplant:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/lungtxp/lungtxp_whatis.html
click to see more info news on lung transplants and Lung Replacements
National Institutes of Health Research Matters
Hot on the heels of progress toward a liver transplant substitute, researchers have made transplantable lung grafts for rats. The accomplishment could pave the way for the development of an engineered human lung.
Lungs have a limited ability to regenerate. The primary therapy for severely damaged lungs is currently lung transplantation—surgery to remove the lung and replace it with a healthy lung from a deceased donor. However, lung transplants are limited by the small number of donor organs available—not much more than 1,000 per year.
To be successful, an artificial lung would need to retain the complex branching geometry of the lung’s airways. It would also require a large network of small blood vessels to transport oxygen and nutrients throughout the structure. Decellularization—the process of removing cells from a structure but leaving a scaffold with the architecture of the original tissue—has shown some success in other organs, including heart and liver. A team of researchers led by Dr. Laura Niklason of Yale University set out to build on this recent progress and develop a similar approach for lungs. Their work was supported by NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).
The researchers harvested lungs from adult rats. Treating the lungs with a mild detergent solution for 2 to 3 hours removed the cells but left the lung architecture intact, as reported in the early online edition of Science on June 24, 2010. A careful analysis showed that a matrix of proteins remained behind to hold the lung’s shape.
To see if they could repopulate the matrix with cells and engineer a functional lung, the researchers injected endothelial cells into the blood vessels and epithelial cells into airways. They kept the matrix for up to 8 days in a novel bioreactor that was designed to mimic the pressure changes and ventilation a lung would experience. The researchers found that the cells reseeded the surfaces of the matrix in their appropriate locations. This finding suggests that the decellularized matrix maintains cues for the cells to attach and thrive.
The researchers tested the engineered lungs in rats for short time intervals (45-120 min) and found that the lungs inflated with air, with only some modest bleeding into airways. Most importantly, the lungs successfully exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide like natural lungs.
To see whether their method might apply to human tissues, the researchers got human lung segments from a tissue bank. They were able to decellularize the tissues while preserving their architecture. They then reseeded the matrices with epithelial and endothelial cells and found that they adhered at their appropriate locations. This result supports the idea that the approach holds promise for human lung tissue.
“We succeeded in engineering an implantable lung in our rat model that could efficiently exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and could oxygenate hemoglobin in the blood. This is an early step in the regeneration of entire lungs for larger animals and, eventually, for humans,” says Niklason. She notes that years of research with adult stem cells will likely be needed to develop ways to repopulate lung matrices and produce fully functional lungs for people.
—by Harrison Wein, Ph.D.
Related Links:
Lung Transplant:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/lungtxp/lungtxp_whatis.html
click to see more info news on lung transplants and Lung Replacements
ALung Technologies raises $14M
ALung Technologies raises $14M from angel investors
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Malia Spencer and Patty Tascarella
Joe Wojcik
Eagle Ventures President Mel Pirchesky, left, and ALung Technologies Chairman and CEO Pete DeComo stand with a Hemolung, an artificial lung designed to be used in an intensive care unit.
View Larger ALung Technologies Inc. has raised $14 million in its biggest capital round to date, almost all from 90 individual investors who are either active or retired entrepreneurs and chief executives.
The South Side-based respiratory support company has earmarked the money for general operations, including finalizing European clinical trials of its artificial lung, starting tests in the United States, and moving to larger space, said CEO Pete DeComo.
ALung already has added four key positions this year — a vice president of operations and manufacturing, and directors of clinical affairs, finance and manufacturing — and the company, which has outgrown its 6,000-square-foot office in the Terminal Building, is set to move to a 15,000-square-foot location at 25th and Jane streets on the South Side by year-end. The larger space will allow for the expansion of the development and manufacturing areas of the business as the company moves toward commercialization of its Hemolung System.
The Hemolung System, which consists of a console and artificial lung, is designed to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Blood is removed through a catheter and fed through an artificial lung, where the carbon dioxide is exchanged with oxygen before traveling back into the body. Unlike traditional treatment with mechanical ventilators, Hemolung patients can remain alert during treatment and, in some cases, are ambulatory.
Each console costs roughly $25,000. The artificial lung, tubing and catheter run about $6,000 for a seven-day supply. The company can build four systems a week, but that is expected to increase at the new site.
ALung’s clinical trials in Germany are expected to conclude in early 2011, paving a path for the company to sell its medical device in Europe. ALung also expects to submit its paperwork with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials in the U.S. by mid-2011, DeComo said.
DeComo, who started his career as a respiratory therapist at UPMC, said ALung’s product treats conditions familiar to almost everyone.
“You can envision a friend or relative in the ICU,” he said. “That’s also helped with the funding.”
FUNDRAISING THROUGH ANGELS
To get to $14 million before clinical trials were complete, ALung took a nontraditional fundraising route that has been growing in popularity during the post-recession era.
DeComo first met with several venture capital firms — including some who staked his previous company, Renal Solutions, which sold in 2007 for $200 million to Germany-based Fresenius Medical Care — but got the same response.
“They all said, ‘Come back when you have human data,’” he said.
Since ALung was too early-stage for venture capitalists, DeComo decided instead to approach angel investors, and met with Mel Pirchesky, CEO of Oakland-based Eagle Ventures, to set up meetings between ALung and wealthy individuals.
Fundraising began in fall 2009, soon after ALung brought in $2.5 million from its existing investors, DeComo said.
Although it took 10 months, the South Side-based respiratory support company raised far more than its initial goal.
“Actually, we originally were looking for $6 million,” DeComo said. “Then we took it up to $8 million, then $10 million, and finally $14 million.”
The recession had an impact.
“Half the people I called got hurt by the stock market and had no liquidity,” Pirchesky said. “But the other half had cash and were looking to put their money in other places than the stock market.”
The price to invest was $250,000. Some angels banded together, forming limited liability partnerships, so 90 individuals translated into 50 shareholders at a total of $13.5 million. The final $500,000 came from a venture capital firm, North Side-based Birchmere Ventures. Birchmere partner Gary Glausser was not immediately available to comment.
Neither DeComo nor Pirchesky would identify the angels, except to say that they, and ALung COO Nicholas Kuhn, are among them. Pirchesky said two-thirds are Pittsburghers, and 90 percent are active or retired CEOs or entrepreneurs. Some are venture capitalists who invested their own money, DeComo said.
Large rounds by groups of independent investors is “absolutely” on the upswing across the country, said John Taylor, National Venture Capital Association research and financial affairs executive.
“The lines between traditional venture capital — from pension funds and endowment money — and angels is blurring,” Taylor said. “The trend is for angels to do larger rounds, but $14 million is fairly sizable and on the higher-end.”
Decomo said the capital should carry ALung through the end of 2011, but expects to launch another capital raise in six months. The amount has not been determined.
Pittsburgh Business Times - by Malia Spencer and Patty Tascarella
Joe Wojcik
Eagle Ventures President Mel Pirchesky, left, and ALung Technologies Chairman and CEO Pete DeComo stand with a Hemolung, an artificial lung designed to be used in an intensive care unit.
View Larger ALung Technologies Inc. has raised $14 million in its biggest capital round to date, almost all from 90 individual investors who are either active or retired entrepreneurs and chief executives.
The South Side-based respiratory support company has earmarked the money for general operations, including finalizing European clinical trials of its artificial lung, starting tests in the United States, and moving to larger space, said CEO Pete DeComo.
ALung already has added four key positions this year — a vice president of operations and manufacturing, and directors of clinical affairs, finance and manufacturing — and the company, which has outgrown its 6,000-square-foot office in the Terminal Building, is set to move to a 15,000-square-foot location at 25th and Jane streets on the South Side by year-end. The larger space will allow for the expansion of the development and manufacturing areas of the business as the company moves toward commercialization of its Hemolung System.
The Hemolung System, which consists of a console and artificial lung, is designed to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Blood is removed through a catheter and fed through an artificial lung, where the carbon dioxide is exchanged with oxygen before traveling back into the body. Unlike traditional treatment with mechanical ventilators, Hemolung patients can remain alert during treatment and, in some cases, are ambulatory.
Each console costs roughly $25,000. The artificial lung, tubing and catheter run about $6,000 for a seven-day supply. The company can build four systems a week, but that is expected to increase at the new site.
ALung’s clinical trials in Germany are expected to conclude in early 2011, paving a path for the company to sell its medical device in Europe. ALung also expects to submit its paperwork with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials in the U.S. by mid-2011, DeComo said.
DeComo, who started his career as a respiratory therapist at UPMC, said ALung’s product treats conditions familiar to almost everyone.
“You can envision a friend or relative in the ICU,” he said. “That’s also helped with the funding.”
FUNDRAISING THROUGH ANGELS
To get to $14 million before clinical trials were complete, ALung took a nontraditional fundraising route that has been growing in popularity during the post-recession era.
DeComo first met with several venture capital firms — including some who staked his previous company, Renal Solutions, which sold in 2007 for $200 million to Germany-based Fresenius Medical Care — but got the same response.
“They all said, ‘Come back when you have human data,’” he said.
Since ALung was too early-stage for venture capitalists, DeComo decided instead to approach angel investors, and met with Mel Pirchesky, CEO of Oakland-based Eagle Ventures, to set up meetings between ALung and wealthy individuals.
Fundraising began in fall 2009, soon after ALung brought in $2.5 million from its existing investors, DeComo said.
Although it took 10 months, the South Side-based respiratory support company raised far more than its initial goal.
“Actually, we originally were looking for $6 million,” DeComo said. “Then we took it up to $8 million, then $10 million, and finally $14 million.”
The recession had an impact.
“Half the people I called got hurt by the stock market and had no liquidity,” Pirchesky said. “But the other half had cash and were looking to put their money in other places than the stock market.”
The price to invest was $250,000. Some angels banded together, forming limited liability partnerships, so 90 individuals translated into 50 shareholders at a total of $13.5 million. The final $500,000 came from a venture capital firm, North Side-based Birchmere Ventures. Birchmere partner Gary Glausser was not immediately available to comment.
Neither DeComo nor Pirchesky would identify the angels, except to say that they, and ALung COO Nicholas Kuhn, are among them. Pirchesky said two-thirds are Pittsburghers, and 90 percent are active or retired CEOs or entrepreneurs. Some are venture capitalists who invested their own money, DeComo said.
Large rounds by groups of independent investors is “absolutely” on the upswing across the country, said John Taylor, National Venture Capital Association research and financial affairs executive.
“The lines between traditional venture capital — from pension funds and endowment money — and angels is blurring,” Taylor said. “The trend is for angels to do larger rounds, but $14 million is fairly sizable and on the higher-end.”
Decomo said the capital should carry ALung through the end of 2011, but expects to launch another capital raise in six months. The amount has not been determined.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Novalung - Ecmo - to Go / Ecmo
Novalung - Ecmo - "to Go" / Ecmo "light" oxygenates great -less filling
Novalung first for FAI
Thomas Buchsein of fixed-wing a air ambulance provider Flight Ambulance International (FAI) reports on the company´s first use of Novalung technology.
The letters ARC´S (acute respirattory distress syndrome) and All (acute lung injury y) stare for the most severe types of respiratory failure e, which are a common clinical appearance and thhe often lethal common path of a variety of diag gnoses such as pneumonia (including all types of influenza associated chest infections), severe multiple e trauma arc septic shock. Striving always to be att the frontier of mobile intensive care medicine, FFAI used the Novalung iLA (interventional lung as ssist) Membrane Ventilator for the first time, a new w extracorporal ´artificial lung´ technology, to assis st conventional mechanical ventilation in ARDS ppatients arc to prevent the often irreversible lung ttissue damage that is typically associated with aggress sive mechanical ventilation strategies. The system m is characterized by a low-resistance membrane, whicch is integrated in an artificial arterio -venous byp pass. Driven by the patient´s own blood pressure (thu us independent of any mechanical pump and pow wer source), the blood flow is shunted from thee cannulised femoral artery to the also-can nulise eo femoral vein through a small (´•. 4x; 4 cm) plas stic box, containing the core of the system: the af orementioned sophisticated gas-exchanging, he eparin-coated hollow-fibro diffusion membrane, w which does what the patients lungs fail to do -removin ng carbon dioxide and adding oxygen to the blood.
Our first mission with the new sysstem took us to Kuwait, where we had been aske ed not only to transport a patient. but also to as ssist the local medical team with a ven/ challen ging intensive care and mechanical ventilation. T The patient was a 52-year old technical engineer with AARDS subsequent 10 severe bilateral p neumonia and sepsis. From our preflight assessm ment, we were already aware that chest X-rays sshowed a ´white lung´ and that the ventilator was a already set to a very high oxygen concentration o of 90 per cent and a PEEP (peak end-expiratory presssure) of ! 5 mmHg, parameters that wouid normallly dearly forbid any air transport.
The FAI medical team (Dr Gotz L Leonhard, deputy chief medical officer, and Simon n Obier chief paramedic) was for this particularr mission supplemented by Bemd Resio, a very h helpful Novalung Medical Technician and ´rained in ntensive care unit nurse. After the usual general p patient assessment. Dr Leonhard performed a Dopple er-ultrasound examination, relocate and measure sanguine vessels before successfully cannulising thhem. He then connected the iLA-membrane box aand opened the arterio-venous shunt through the iLA-box in which gases and blood are separated only by the aforem mentioned low-resistance diffusion membrane, anaalogous to the natural lung. During the following g hours, it -was possible to gradually adjust the re spirator towards lung protective parameters without the e limitations usually imposed by the need for pulm monary gas exchange. Twenty -four hours lat ter, the patient was considered stable enough to ttake him onboard. The flight was conducted at the s standard cabin pressure of 7,5)00 ft without any a adverse effects - pulsoxymetry, capnometry and b blood gases remained stable throughout the flight.
Summary
The Novalung Membrane Ventilator is a lightweight, low-cost, easy-to-use pumpleess (driven by the patients cardiac output) pulmona ary assist device, clinically already well establishe ed in patients with acute lung failure. \~ is now enterring the world of aero medical transport as a new w and promising asset in helping our patients to survive.
more info on the Novalung
Novalung first for FAI
Thomas Buchsein of fixed-wing a air ambulance provider Flight Ambulance International (FAI) reports on the company´s first use of Novalung technology.
The letters ARC´S (acute respirattory distress syndrome) and All (acute lung injury y) stare for the most severe types of respiratory failure e, which are a common clinical appearance and thhe often lethal common path of a variety of diag gnoses such as pneumonia (including all types of influenza associated chest infections), severe multiple e trauma arc septic shock. Striving always to be att the frontier of mobile intensive care medicine, FFAI used the Novalung iLA (interventional lung as ssist) Membrane Ventilator for the first time, a new w extracorporal ´artificial lung´ technology, to assis st conventional mechanical ventilation in ARDS ppatients arc to prevent the often irreversible lung ttissue damage that is typically associated with aggress sive mechanical ventilation strategies. The system m is characterized by a low-resistance membrane, whicch is integrated in an artificial arterio -venous byp pass. Driven by the patient´s own blood pressure (thu us independent of any mechanical pump and pow wer source), the blood flow is shunted from thee cannulised femoral artery to the also-can nulise eo femoral vein through a small (´•. 4x; 4 cm) plas stic box, containing the core of the system: the af orementioned sophisticated gas-exchanging, he eparin-coated hollow-fibro diffusion membrane, w which does what the patients lungs fail to do -removin ng carbon dioxide and adding oxygen to the blood.
Our first mission with the new sysstem took us to Kuwait, where we had been aske ed not only to transport a patient. but also to as ssist the local medical team with a ven/ challen ging intensive care and mechanical ventilation. T The patient was a 52-year old technical engineer with AARDS subsequent 10 severe bilateral p neumonia and sepsis. From our preflight assessm ment, we were already aware that chest X-rays sshowed a ´white lung´ and that the ventilator was a already set to a very high oxygen concentration o of 90 per cent and a PEEP (peak end-expiratory presssure) of ! 5 mmHg, parameters that wouid normallly dearly forbid any air transport.
The FAI medical team (Dr Gotz L Leonhard, deputy chief medical officer, and Simon n Obier chief paramedic) was for this particularr mission supplemented by Bemd Resio, a very h helpful Novalung Medical Technician and ´rained in ntensive care unit nurse. After the usual general p patient assessment. Dr Leonhard performed a Dopple er-ultrasound examination, relocate and measure sanguine vessels before successfully cannulising thhem. He then connected the iLA-membrane box aand opened the arterio-venous shunt through the iLA-box in which gases and blood are separated only by the aforem mentioned low-resistance diffusion membrane, anaalogous to the natural lung. During the following g hours, it -was possible to gradually adjust the re spirator towards lung protective parameters without the e limitations usually imposed by the need for pulm monary gas exchange. Twenty -four hours lat ter, the patient was considered stable enough to ttake him onboard. The flight was conducted at the s standard cabin pressure of 7,5)00 ft without any a adverse effects - pulsoxymetry, capnometry and b blood gases remained stable throughout the flight.
Summary
The Novalung Membrane Ventilator is a lightweight, low-cost, easy-to-use pumpleess (driven by the patients cardiac output) pulmona ary assist device, clinically already well establishe ed in patients with acute lung failure. \~ is now enterring the world of aero medical transport as a new w and promising asset in helping our patients to survive.
more info on the Novalung
Friday, September 3, 2010
$5,000 device by Novalung device
Owen Stark in July when he used an artificial lung. He was the youngest patient on the machine. (St. Louis Children's Hospital)
When Owen Stark came to St. Louis Children's Hospital in June with severe lung disease, he had just a few days to live and even fewer options for treatment.
Owen, 2, had severe pulmonary hypertension, meaning the blood vessels in his lungs were so constricted they could barely carry blood. He had to go on life support to keep his heart and lungs functioning. Medications for the disease can take weeks or months to improve a patient's condition. Waiting for a suitable lung transplant can add another two to six months.
"Transplant or medication, both options take time, and he didn't have time," said Dr. Mark Grady, Owen's cardiologist.
A surgeon on the team had heard of an artificial lung used in Europe and Canada, but not approved for long-term use in the United States. The hospital appealed for a compassionate use exemption, which was granted in about three days by the Food and Drug Administration.
Owen's parents, of Eldon, Mo., were shocked by the rapid deterioration of the boy who seemed energetic and healthy just hours before he was hospitalized. They agreed to the experimental treatment.
"We were really nervous about it, but at that point he had no other options to live." Justin Stark said.
Surgeons implanted Owen with the Novalung device, a small box with two tubes on either side that are attached to the heart. Blood goes through one tube into the box, where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide is removed, and then the blood returns to the heart through the other tube.
Hospital officials were eager to promote the story to the public, as the first time the $5,000 device had been used on a patient in the U.S.
But Owen's doctors resisted public and media attention until they knew Owen wasn't going to die.
After about three weeks on the device, Owen was feeling pretty vigorous, and kicked one of the tubes loose. Somehow a blood clot dislodged and the little boy suffered a stroke.
The doctors decided to remove the device, and Owen has been breathing on his own ever since.
Owen lost mobility on his right side and his speech was affected by the stroke. He's in therapy and still takes three drugs for lung function.
Doctors say they're in a wait-and-see mode. Owen's lungs could stop functioning again and he might still need a lung transplant. Or he could leave the hospital and go home in a month.
"His prognosis is guarded," Grady said. "He's clearly shown a good response to the meds. Only time will tell whether he'll stabilize."
When Owen Stark came to St. Louis Children's Hospital in June with severe lung disease, he had just a few days to live and even fewer options for treatment.
Owen, 2, had severe pulmonary hypertension, meaning the blood vessels in his lungs were so constricted they could barely carry blood. He had to go on life support to keep his heart and lungs functioning. Medications for the disease can take weeks or months to improve a patient's condition. Waiting for a suitable lung transplant can add another two to six months.
"Transplant or medication, both options take time, and he didn't have time," said Dr. Mark Grady, Owen's cardiologist.
A surgeon on the team had heard of an artificial lung used in Europe and Canada, but not approved for long-term use in the United States. The hospital appealed for a compassionate use exemption, which was granted in about three days by the Food and Drug Administration.
Owen's parents, of Eldon, Mo., were shocked by the rapid deterioration of the boy who seemed energetic and healthy just hours before he was hospitalized. They agreed to the experimental treatment.
"We were really nervous about it, but at that point he had no other options to live." Justin Stark said.
Surgeons implanted Owen with the Novalung device, a small box with two tubes on either side that are attached to the heart. Blood goes through one tube into the box, where oxygen is added and carbon dioxide is removed, and then the blood returns to the heart through the other tube.
Hospital officials were eager to promote the story to the public, as the first time the $5,000 device had been used on a patient in the U.S.
But Owen's doctors resisted public and media attention until they knew Owen wasn't going to die.
After about three weeks on the device, Owen was feeling pretty vigorous, and kicked one of the tubes loose. Somehow a blood clot dislodged and the little boy suffered a stroke.
The doctors decided to remove the device, and Owen has been breathing on his own ever since.
Owen lost mobility on his right side and his speech was affected by the stroke. He's in therapy and still takes three drugs for lung function.
Doctors say they're in a wait-and-see mode. Owen's lungs could stop functioning again and he might still need a lung transplant. Or he could leave the hospital and go home in a month.
"His prognosis is guarded," Grady said. "He's clearly shown a good response to the meds. Only time will tell whether he'll stabilize."
Thursday, September 2, 2010
First Working Replacement Lung Created in Lab
First Working Replacement Lung Created in Lab
An engineered lung (bottom) worked when implanted into a rat (top).
For the first time scientists have reconstructed working lungs in the lab and transplanted them into a living animal. The achievement is a breakthrough in biomedical engineering that could lead to replacement lungs for humans in the near future, experts say.
that's vulnerable to tissue rejection.
In a new study, researchers took lungs from a living rat and used detergents to remove lung cells and blood vessels, revealing the organ's underlying matrix. This lung "skeleton"—made of flexible proteins, sugars, and other chemicals—consists of a branching network that divides more than 20 times into smaller and smaller structures. (See an interactive graphic of lung structure.)
The researchers placed these "decellularized" lungs into a bioreactor, a machine filled with a slurry containing different types of lung cells extracted from rat fetuses. Within several days, the fetal cells naturally attached to the lung matrix and formed a functional lung.
"By and large, the correct subsets of cells went to their correct anatomical locations," explained study leader Laura Niklason, a biomedical engineer at Yale University. "It appears that the lung matrix has cues, or 'zip codes,' that tell the cells where to land."
When the team implanted the engineered lungs into an adult rat for short periods of time—between 45 minutes and two hours—the lungs exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide in the same way as natural lungs.
"Leap Forward"
By using a natural lung matrix, Niklason's team has avoided one of the biggest hurdles of lung-regeneration attempts—finding a suitable "scaffold" for lung cells to attach to.
Because manufacturing techniques cannot yet replicate nature's complex design, attempts to create synthetic scaffolds have been unsuccessful. Niklason spent several years trying to create a synthetic lung scaffold, but in the end concluded it was too difficult.
"I decided I couldn't do it, and probably nobody else could either," she said.
The new research represents a "real leap forward" in lung regeneration, said Peter Lelkes, a biomedical engineer at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
"People have engineered organs such as bone and cartilage before, but by comparison to the lung, these are all kids' games," added Lelkes, who was not involved with the study.
Stem Cell Hurdle
Niklason estimates it will be about 20 to 25 years before her team's technique can be used in humans.
That's because a few technical and scientific challenges remain.
Chief among these is finding ways of creating stem cells—which can transform into any other type of cell—from patients with lung disease. No techniques currently exist for creating such cells, which would carry no risk of immune rejection.
(Related: "Liposuction Fat Turned Into Stem Cells, Study Says.")
"The stem cell issue," Niklason said, "is really the big fundamental scientific hurdle."
The research is detailed in this week's issue of the journal Science
Ker Than for National Geographic News
published June 24, 2010
see more at news nationalgeographic com news replacement lab
An engineered lung (bottom) worked when implanted into a rat (top).
For the first time scientists have reconstructed working lungs in the lab and transplanted them into a living animal. The achievement is a breakthrough in biomedical engineering that could lead to replacement lungs for humans in the near future, experts say.
that's vulnerable to tissue rejection.
In a new study, researchers took lungs from a living rat and used detergents to remove lung cells and blood vessels, revealing the organ's underlying matrix. This lung "skeleton"—made of flexible proteins, sugars, and other chemicals—consists of a branching network that divides more than 20 times into smaller and smaller structures. (See an interactive graphic of lung structure.)
The researchers placed these "decellularized" lungs into a bioreactor, a machine filled with a slurry containing different types of lung cells extracted from rat fetuses. Within several days, the fetal cells naturally attached to the lung matrix and formed a functional lung.
"By and large, the correct subsets of cells went to their correct anatomical locations," explained study leader Laura Niklason, a biomedical engineer at Yale University. "It appears that the lung matrix has cues, or 'zip codes,' that tell the cells where to land."
When the team implanted the engineered lungs into an adult rat for short periods of time—between 45 minutes and two hours—the lungs exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide in the same way as natural lungs.
"Leap Forward"
By using a natural lung matrix, Niklason's team has avoided one of the biggest hurdles of lung-regeneration attempts—finding a suitable "scaffold" for lung cells to attach to.
Because manufacturing techniques cannot yet replicate nature's complex design, attempts to create synthetic scaffolds have been unsuccessful. Niklason spent several years trying to create a synthetic lung scaffold, but in the end concluded it was too difficult.
"I decided I couldn't do it, and probably nobody else could either," she said.
The new research represents a "real leap forward" in lung regeneration, said Peter Lelkes, a biomedical engineer at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
"People have engineered organs such as bone and cartilage before, but by comparison to the lung, these are all kids' games," added Lelkes, who was not involved with the study.
Stem Cell Hurdle
Niklason estimates it will be about 20 to 25 years before her team's technique can be used in humans.
That's because a few technical and scientific challenges remain.
Chief among these is finding ways of creating stem cells—which can transform into any other type of cell—from patients with lung disease. No techniques currently exist for creating such cells, which would carry no risk of immune rejection.
(Related: "Liposuction Fat Turned Into Stem Cells, Study Says.")
"The stem cell issue," Niklason said, "is really the big fundamental scientific hurdle."
The research is detailed in this week's issue of the journal Science
Ker Than for National Geographic News
published June 24, 2010
see more at news nationalgeographic com news replacement lab
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Haemair respiratory aid and prosthetic lung
The Haemair respiratory aid and prosthetic lung.
The unique feature of the Haemair approach is that it is aimed at conscious mobile patients. To this end, we match oxygen and carbon dioxide mass transfer rates to the respiratory demand of the patient. Furthermore, we employ a flow of natural air to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
There are three main variants of our device. The simplest to employ consists of a mass exchanger, as illustrated in figure 2. It takes deoxygenated blood, extracted from a main vein, removes carbon dioxide, replaces it with oxygen, and returns the oxygenated blood to the body. The second variant places the mass exchanger within the body to eliminate the hazard of taking a significant blood flow outside the body. The final version is a prosthetic lung, as illustrated in figure 3.
In all three variants, mass transfer is controlled so that performance mimics that of natural lungs. In this way, the natural respiratory control mechanism controls heart rate etc, and control is fully integrated with the natural respiratory system.
The external device will be deployed first. It is easily reversible and major parts are available for maintenance. The easy reversibility is important in treating emergency and acute cases for which the device might be needed for no more than hours or weeks. Once we have established that long maintenance-free operation is possible, we can move on to the intermediate device. The clinical procedure to “plumb” the device into the blood circulation system is more complex and maintenance is more difficult. However, the engineering is simpler. The only significant external item required is a small air pump, or fan. This device is more suited to patients who will need it for months – for example, as a bridge to transplant. It should enable patients to leave hospital and continue treatment at home. The final variant, a prosthetic lung, serves as an alternative to a lung transplant. This variant is illustrated in figure 3. It cannot be deployed until we have extensive favourable experience with the reversible devices. However, it offers hope to those currently excluded from transplant waiting lists – for example, most terminal emphysema sufferers.
For those interested in the technology, our published PCT Patent Application No. W02005/118025 is available. Details of subsequent applications can be provided against suitable signed confidentiality agreements. Please contact Haemair explaining your interest. We are pleased to share information with those who share our goal of improving the lives of sufferers from lung disease.
"Haemair Limited has a mission to reduce Acute deaths, improve the lives of Chronic sufferers and to provide an alternative to lung transplantation."
The unique feature of the Haemair approach is that it is aimed at conscious mobile patients. To this end, we match oxygen and carbon dioxide mass transfer rates to the respiratory demand of the patient. Furthermore, we employ a flow of natural air to provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide.
There are three main variants of our device. The simplest to employ consists of a mass exchanger, as illustrated in figure 2. It takes deoxygenated blood, extracted from a main vein, removes carbon dioxide, replaces it with oxygen, and returns the oxygenated blood to the body. The second variant places the mass exchanger within the body to eliminate the hazard of taking a significant blood flow outside the body. The final version is a prosthetic lung, as illustrated in figure 3.
In all three variants, mass transfer is controlled so that performance mimics that of natural lungs. In this way, the natural respiratory control mechanism controls heart rate etc, and control is fully integrated with the natural respiratory system.
The external device will be deployed first. It is easily reversible and major parts are available for maintenance. The easy reversibility is important in treating emergency and acute cases for which the device might be needed for no more than hours or weeks. Once we have established that long maintenance-free operation is possible, we can move on to the intermediate device. The clinical procedure to “plumb” the device into the blood circulation system is more complex and maintenance is more difficult. However, the engineering is simpler. The only significant external item required is a small air pump, or fan. This device is more suited to patients who will need it for months – for example, as a bridge to transplant. It should enable patients to leave hospital and continue treatment at home. The final variant, a prosthetic lung, serves as an alternative to a lung transplant. This variant is illustrated in figure 3. It cannot be deployed until we have extensive favourable experience with the reversible devices. However, it offers hope to those currently excluded from transplant waiting lists – for example, most terminal emphysema sufferers.
For those interested in the technology, our published PCT Patent Application No. W02005/118025 is available. Details of subsequent applications can be provided against suitable signed confidentiality agreements. Please contact Haemair explaining your interest. We are pleased to share information with those who share our goal of improving the lives of sufferers from lung disease.
"Haemair Limited has a mission to reduce Acute deaths, improve the lives of Chronic sufferers and to provide an alternative to lung transplantation."
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