AACHEN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hemovent GmbH announced today that it has successfully completed the first series of in vivo trials for the initial application of its novel and portable artificial lung technology platform, designed for a wide range of indications from ExtraCorporeal CO2 Removal (ECCO2R) to ExtraCorporeal Life Support (ECLS).
These types of applications are also referred to as ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO): the establishment of an artificial external blood circuit with a portable pump and gas exchanger system in order to support the lung function only or even establish a full cardiopulmonary bypass. ECMO as a temporary “artificial lung” either provides respiratory support to patients whose lungs are so damaged that they cannot perform their function, or as a temporary “life support system” and takes over the heart function in case of an acute heart failure.
“We are extremely pleased with the progress Hemovent is making toward developing technology that is positioned to disrupt a billion-dollar market, whose standard therapy is complex to use, costly to purchase, and not portable,” said Christof Lenz, a co-founder and CEO of Hemovent.
“The results of this first series of in vivo trials validate our platform’s superior blood-handling behavior and efficiency parameters compared to standard ECMO,” Lenz added. “As a result, we expect that when Hemovent is available by mid-2018, it will immediately boost ECMO usage not only for life support applications (ECLS) but also as an effective therapy for respiratory failure indications including ECCO2R protocols.”
“ECMO is a proven therapy for acute respiratory and circulatory failure. We expect our Hemovent system will mitigate several critically important device-related issues with standard ECMO/ECLS, such as hemolysis, that result due to flow-pressure rate issues and blood-clotting due to listless flow and inadequate washout zones,” said Oliver Marseille, Ph.D., co-founder and chief technology officer.
(Dr. Marseille was a co-founder of CircuLite® (HeartWare® International) prior to co-founding Hemovent—which is developing the world’s smallest and first self-contained, fully portable ECMO system designed to support or replace heart and lung function in the event of cardiac and respiratory failure.)
Hemovent GmbH is an emerging medical device company that has developed the world’s smallest and first self-contained fully portable artificial lungs for ExtraCorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) / ExtraCorporeal Life Support (ECLS) applications designed to support or replace heart and lung function in the event of cardiac and/or respiratory failure.
CAUTION: The Hemovent ECMO/ ECLS System is not approved for human use.
