IntelliDrain

Prolonged air leaks (PAL) are reported to occur in 20% to 58% of patients undergoing lung resection. Last year, there were 380,000 lung resections in the United States, and about 1.1M in the rest of the world. In addition to being one of the most important determinants of morbidity and mortality, PAL delays patient discharge and results in unnecessary healthcare resource use. We are developing a novel surgical drainage system that: 1) provides clinical decision support (CDU), 2) supports accelerated healing, and 3) reduces length of stay in thoracic patients. We support this claim with human data. Using a hardware analogue, our device technology has already been demonstrated in a human clinical trial, and we seek support from the NCIIA E-Team program in order to build advanced prototypes for a multicenter trial and expanded commercialization endeavors that will bring this innovation to market and save trillions in unnecessary healthcare spending (Appendix XX).