Sheba Medical Center and Inspira Technologies have joined forces to test an innovative system that increases oxygen in the blood. The system, called Augmented Respiration Technology (ART), which will initially be used on critically ill COVID-19 patients, directly oxygenates the blood and immediately elevates and stabilizes patient oxygen levels.
ART fills a gap in respiratory treatment where supplemental respiratory therapies, such as high-pressure masks, are insufficient and the risks of mechanical ventilation—such as medically-induced comas, intubation, and lung atrophy—are unacceptable.
“We are very excited to test this breakthrough technology for respiratory distress. With the ART system, hopefully, patients will remain fully conscious during their treatment,” said Dr. Alexander Kogan, Director of the Cardiac Surgery Department’s Intensive Care Unit at Sheba Medical Center, who added: “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.”
Dagi Ben-Noon, co-founder and CEO of Inspira, stated, on his part: “Collaborating with 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.”
The collaboration was facilitated by Sheba Medical Center’s Technology Transfer Company Manager, Dr. Sylvie Luria. According to Dr. Luria: “Sheba is constantly searching for innovations that can improve the level of care we provide our patients. When we came across Inspira’s unique technology, we immediately saw its potential to transform the way we treat patients with respiratory issues.”
