Big help for little lungs
New Australian device offers hope for babies who struggle to breathe
TINY premature babies in need of breathing support could soon receive better care thanks to a new device that monitors their airways.
Respiratory distress is one of the leading causes of death in newborn babies, with those born premature at some of the highest risk.
But a new device is hoping to eliminate any further complications by measuring the pressure of the air delivered via
non-invasive supports, such as nasal and CPAP machines, and alerting clinicians if levels are too high or low.
This means serious damage, such as lung collapse, can be prevented and the baby’s airways given the best chance of developing.
Edward Buijs, CEO and cofounder of Melbourne-based medical start-up Ventora, said the aim was to decrease the number of babies — such as little Hinewai Matthews, who was born 13 weeks early and is on “high flow” breathing support — needing further airway treatment and intubation.
“You might be surprised to learn that despite being necessary, a baby’s lungs are one of the last things to develop,” Mr Buijs said. “What our device would do is allow the clinicians to know in real time if there’s a drop (or spike) in pressure so they can respond quicker.
“And ultimately what we’re hoping to do is reduce the complications and reduce the overall length of stay.”
Mr Buijs said a movement as little as a yawn or stretch could cause a “leak”, disrupt the level of airflow and, in turn, cause significant damage. “The main side effects are around the lungs and maintaining the structural integrity — if levels are too high it can cause air leaking into the chest cavity,” he said.
“But more commonly, if the pressure is too low they can have a lung collapse and that obviously has some serious complications.”
Mr Buijs and partners Amy Yu and Alan Haszard came up with the concept, and started the company, while completing their final year of engineering and business studies Melbourne University.
The team are now awaiting the green light to trial the device in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) across some of Melbourne’s biggest hospitals.
Mr Buijs said he hoped the device could help reduce “stress and anxiety” for parents of NICU babies. “Parents are a huge factor in this for us ... ultimately what we want, is (for them) to wrap their arms around their child and take them home,” he said. at