Breakthrough Respiration Treatment to Be Used on Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients

A breakthrough respiratory support system that directly oxygenates blood and immediately elevates and stabilizes patient oxygen levels will be used on critically ill COVID-19 patients.

The intensive care unit (ICU) of the Department of Cardiac Surgery at Sheba Medical Center (Tel Aviv, Israel) will test the innovative Augmented Respiration Technology (ART) from Inspira Technologies (Ra'anana, Israel) on severely ill COVID-19 patients. ART is the world's first technology to oxygenate blood directly as a first line support. It uniquely fills a gap in respiratory treatment where supplemental respiratory therapies such as high-pressure masks are insufficient and the risks from mechanical ventilation - such as medically-induced comas, intubation, and lung atrophy - are unjustified. The ART system is an alternative to highly invasive mechanical ventilation systems, preventing the need for medically induced comas and intubation. The technology solution lowers the risks and costs of existing ventilation systems by allowing patients to remain awake and mobile during treatment, and the simple system design allows for broader medical use.

“We are very excited to test this breakthrough technology for respiratory distress,” said Dr. Alexander Kogan, Director of the Cardiac Surgery ICU at Sheba's Heart Center. “With the ART system, hopefully, patients will remain fully conscious during their treatment. We will be able to avoid the use of mechanical ventilation until it's absolutely necessary and spare many patients from the risks of a medically-induced coma. Moreover, we anticipate further development of our novel renal replacement therapy technology for these critically ill patients with the help of Inspira.”

“Collaborating with the Sheba Medical Center is a great opportunity to test the ART system in a real-world environment and demonstrate its ease of use for medical staff and effectiveness for treating patients,” added Dagi Ben-Noon, co-founder and CEO of Inspira.

Related Links:
Inspira Technologies
Sheba Medical Center