蜜柚直播

The system, dubbed Hespiro, is a new type of helium-oxygen respiratory-assist device that could help COVID-19 patients and reduce the need for increasingly scarce mechanical ventilators.

蜜柚直播 startup SaiOx Inc. is working to quickly bring to market the technology invented by Dr. Sairam Parthasarathy, a UA professor of medicine and director of the UA Center for Sleep and Circadian Sciences, and Dr. Marvin Slepian, a UA Regents professor of medicine, cardiologist and co-founder of 蜜柚直播-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems.

SaiOx, founded by local technology developer and UA engineering alumnus Manny Teran, was awarded an exclusive UA license to develop Hespiro.

Helium-oxygen mixes, known as heliox, have been used to ease breathing in patients for years.

The patent-pending Hespiro device not only delivers a mixture of helium and oxygen, it captures exhaled gas and scrubs it free of carbon dioxide in a completely closed 鈥渞ebreather鈥� system.

While it is not a replacement for a ventilator, SaiOx鈥檚 system helps patients who can still breathe on their own breathe easier while keeping germs like the coronavirus safely contained, Parthasarathy said.

鈥淏y having a closed-circuit system with this kind of mask that covers the nose and mouth, first responders can give people assistance immediately on site, and do so with less chance of infection,鈥� Parthasarathy said, noting that first responders could use the system to deliver oxygen in the field or transport patients without endangering themselves or bystanders.

Teran, who spent more than eight years heading the local tech-development firm Aztera until 2018, said he evaluated the UA technology about a year ago but was involved with another startup at the time.

In January, Teran re-engaged with Parthasarathy and the UA鈥檚 technology commercialization arm, Tech Launch 蜜柚直播 and in January, with the idea of developing a new, low-pressure heliox system to treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

鈥淚t was really just by happenstance this COVID thing came out of nowhere, almost overnight,鈥� Teran said.

Now, SaiOx is looking to fast-track development of a basic version of Hespiro for use under wide 鈥渆mergency use authorizations鈥� for COVID 19-related diagnostic, therapies and devices issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, putting on the back burner for now development of a full-featured version of the device consumers can use at home without direct medical supervision, Teran said.

The basic Hespiro system could be ready for manufacture in a matter of months, he said.

鈥淲e鈥檙e downshifting to make a device that can be produced as a frontline tool for front-line clinicians,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e can build this device quickly because of the use of over-the-counter parts.鈥�

Hospitals have long used heliox systems to help patients with difficulty breathing because helium is much less dense than air, reducing airflow resistance and thereby requiring less work to breathe.

The Hespiro system isn鈥檛 a direct replacement for a ventilator, Parthasarathy said; rather it falls functionally between continuous positive air pressure, or CPAP, machines that are commonly used in the home to provide air flow to patients with sleep apnea, and mechanical ventilators often used with a tracheal tube for patients who can鈥檛 breathe on their own.

The SaiOx system doesn鈥檛 require invasive intubation, using a soft nose-mouth mask much like CPAP machines, and under its pending patent it could be adapted to deliver other therapeutic gas blends, Parthasarathy said.

While CPAP machines are required to generate relatively high air pressure to make sure exhaled carbon dioxide is eliminated, the SaiOx system was designed from the start to operate at much lower air pressures and be adjustable down to nearly zero pressure, to avoid the discomfort caused by higher pressures, Parthasarathy said.

Using a CPAP is 鈥渁lmost like sticking your head out of the window of a car when you鈥檙e driving at 60 or 70 miles per hour,鈥� Parthasarathy said. 鈥淭he advantage of the low-pressure system is that it helps you comfortably wear that mask without feeling that air is being stuffed into you.鈥�

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hespiro system could help free up ventilators for the sickest patients and help more people at a much lower cost, Teran said.

The SaiOx team is looking to market its heliox system for about one-third of the price of hospital-level ventilators costing $30,000 to $40,000 apiece, he said.

The startup company is working through Tech Launch 蜜柚直播 with local manufacturers to make components for the Hespiro system, Teran said.

Teran has worked with the Tech Launch 蜜柚直播 licensing manager for UA Health Sciences Kaitlyn Norman-Powers and mentor-in-residence Marie Wesselhoft, a longtime biotech entrepreneur.

鈥淥ne of the really exciting things about this is that the businesspeople stepping up to help with this project are all from outside the University of 蜜柚直播,鈥� Norman-Powers said.

Teran says he sees a long-term business opportunity with SaiOx but his priority right now is helping the community, noting that COVID-19 is expected to resurge next fall or winter.

鈥淚鈥檓 a Southern 蜜柚直播 boy, I grew up in Douglas, and it scares me to know what鈥檚 coming, and we want to do something to help,鈥� Teran said. 鈥淭his is something that is going to help a lot of people.鈥�