Innovative Device Automates Collapsed Lung Aspiration

A new digital device for automating the aspiration procedure in primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP) reduces the invasiveness of the procedure by measuring the volume of aspirant and controlling negative pressure and flow rate.

The Breathe device is an electro-mechanical tool that enables gas volume measurement and control. By optimizing automatic aspiration for PSP--also known as collapsed lung aspiration--the device increases the dynamism of the treatment process and provides a more detailed analysis of the pressure and flow rate of the aspiration process. This allows the operator to engage with accurate, real-time data regarding the volume and pressure in the patient's chest cavity. Diagnostic capabilities provide useful statistics about the body's environment and its reaction to aspiration, and could help physicians discover new and unforeseen facts about PSP. The Breathe device is a product of Cambridge Consultants (Cambridge, United Kingdom).


"By transforming a doctor from a syringe puller to an active process manager, Cambridge Consultants has made more intelligent the process of aspiration for PSP,” said Andrew Gow, a senior engineer of medical technology at Cambridge Consultants. "Breathe is equivalent to aspirating with a syringe, but it gives doctors and nurses more control and data, while reducing the likelihood of human error.”

PSP involves a tear in the wall of the lung through which gases enters the chest cavity from outside the lung, and then become trapped. Mainly found in tall, thin, young men, PSP affects between 18 and 28 in every 100,000 men throughout the world; in general, large hospitals are faced with two to three such cases per week. Currently, the initial treatment for PSP is the placement of a small-bore intravenous (IV) or pigtail catheter at the second intercostal space at the midclavicular line, followed by aspiration of air from the pleural space; when up to four liters of air (in adults) are removed, the lung should reexpand itself.

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