At a glance Full Project Title AmbuLung (Ambulatory Bioartificial Lung) Project Objectives Novalung’s mission is the development, manufacturing and marketing of innovative medical devices for lung support. These “artificial lungs” operate outside of the patient’s body, overtaking the gasexchange of the failing natural lung. Project Funding The AmbuLung (Ambulatory Bioartificial Lung) project is being subsidized by the EU with a total of 5.6 Million Euros (project start: 2012). Project Partners • Novalung GmbH, Heilbronn, Germany / Dr Georg Matheis and Josef Bogenschütz • Fraunhofer Insitute of Interfacial Engineering, Stuttgart ,Germany / Professor Thomas Hirth • The Biological System Engineering Laboratory of the Imperial College London / Professor Dame Julia Polak and Professor Athanasios Mantalaris, PhD • The Università degli studi di Firenze / Professor Massimo Pistolesi, MD Contact Details Project Coordinator, Jörg Schneider Novalung GmbH Im Zukunftspark 1 DE-74076 Heilbronn (Germany) T: +49 7131 27 06 143 E: Joerg.Schneider@novalung.com W: www.novalung.com
Jörg Schneider
Project Coordinator
Before joining Novalung for coordinating the AmbuLung Project Jörg Schneider worked as a freelance consultant in the medical device industry. Prior to this he was the CEO of Resmed Germany, a worldwide leading enterprise in the market of sleep and respiratory medicine. Jörg holds a Dipl.Ing T.U. degree (MS) in biomedical engineering and biokypernetics from the Karlsruhe University of Technology, Germany. He has extensive expertise in successful product launches and interdisciplinary pioneer work to establish new treatment options in the area of pulmonology, cardiology and heart surgery.
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Necessary steps to transform the iLA to a longterm ambulatory lung assist device.
patients with Gold III and Gold IV. These are patients who are frequently hospitalized because of an acute worsening of the disease,” says Schneider. “In one of the next steps we will also target patients in chronic phases of the disease in order to avoid exacerbations.” The AmbuLung could also be used to treat other lung conditions, including lung injuries, infections like ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and to support patients waiting for a lung
project’s targets is to reduce the cost of COPD therapy,” explains Schneider. “COPD is actually the fourth most common chronic disease worldwide.” The disease is thought to affect more than 300 million across the world and the prevalence is still rising, underlining the importance of the project’s research. The ultimate goal is to develop a device that patients can use in their own home, in a way mirroring the evolution of ventricular assist devices (VAD), which were first developed in the ‘80s to support the heart.
The AmbuLung could also be used to treat other lung conditions, including lung injuries, infections like ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and to support patients waiting for a lung transplant transplant. There is an acute shortage of lung donors at present, and it is not uncommon for patients to pass away while waiting for a transplant; Schneider says the AmbuLung could act as an effective ‘bridge to transplant’ in such circumstances. “The AmbuLung will be an excellent device to overcome the timeperiod until a donor organ is available, as it is designed for long-term use,” he says. Even if the targeted operation time of 60 days is not sufficient, the gas exchanger can be easily exchanged in the hospital environment when it needs replacing, extending life and reducing the time patients need to spend in hospital, which is one of the major economic drivers behind the project. “Another of the
“Twenty years ago VADs were bulky systems used in the ICU. Nowadays VADs are small, light, and can be worn on the patient’s body. They can be used outside the hospital, when people are at home or travelling for example,” outlines Schneider. The project aims to achieve something similar with the AmbuLung, to reach a point where patients can use the device in their own home, independent of any medical supervision. “How long it will take to get to this stage depends on many factors,” says Schneider. “First of all there’s the financial issue, because such development is not cheap. Then it depends on regulatory issues and the acceptance of the medical community. This is groundbreaking, pioneering work.”
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