SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / October 31, 2024 / VentSafe, Inc. (VentSafe) is proud to announce that it has been awarded a Phase I grant from the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) prestigious National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for $580,000-double the usual cap. This grant and double impact award recognizes VentSafe's dedication to salvaging legacy conventional ventilators (CV) on the current market, with critical improvements for efficacy and eradicating the well-known but ignored adverse effects, especially in the ICU.
The following facts and statistics place a strong perspective on the need for VentSafe, given that CVs have not seen any significant improvement in decades:
Over 300,000 U.S. patients are ventilated per year in the ICU, which is a post-COVID pandemic incidence rate. Of those patients, the median time being under ventilation is 4-7 hospital days or over 96 hours.
The majority of such patients with over 50 hours of ventilation will have brain damage and [chronic] respiratory injuries.
Finally, for the 50% ICU survivors with prolonged ventilation, the one and five-year survival rates are approximately 50% and 32%, respectively, whereas the short-term ventilator (below-median) rates are 32% and 21%.
Therefore, roughly speaking, the mortality rate is 50% higher if a discharged patient is ventilated for more than the median time, which the NIH has understood for some time and shown due to this award. Note: these statistics do not include pediatric patients who are equally affected, which VentSafe aims to help as well.
VentSafe is addressing this pressing challenge by initially utilizing advanced physics and computer modeling to deepen their understanding of the issues. However, beginning November 1st, 2024, they shall be developing an advanced ventilator technology alpha product with the assistance of the well-renowned P3PD, LLC, in Ft. Collins, Co. This product/accessory shall be able to adapt to any existing/legacy conventional ventilators, optimize performance, and enhance patient outcomes, with a primary focus on Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), amongst others, including ICU delirium.
At the helm of VentSafe is Dr. Sean Degmetich, a successful trauma critical care surgeon whose firsthand experiences in the ICU have fueled his determination to improve ventilation tools. "Every time I'm on call, I see the challenges posed by conventional ventilation methods - I am only as good as my weakest and most important resource - the CV," says Dr. Degmetich, who further adds, "With this [CV] being such an obvious issue, I couldn't believe that no one was doing anything about it, which prompted my desire to build VentSafe."
Bridging the Gap: The Fateful Events Leading to Dr. Degmetich Meeting His Founding Team
"In 2022, after a long run, which I do habitually, I passed out and had a major brain injury after hitting my head on the corner of the dining room table… apparently I was found unresponsive … basically, dead," says Anjan Chatterji, who resides in Manhattan, NY. After he was resuscitated, he was placed in a coma and under conventional ventilation. Chatterji spent two weeks in the ICU and suffered terrible delusions and chest pains during and after his release. "It took me almost a year to recover, even run or just think creatively again - I could not even look at a laptop screen without flinching. I was not told of any issues to look out for, but I ended up in a dark hole and became very isolated from society," says Chatterji, who is a successful venture capitalist and possesses graduate degrees from Northwestern University. "I knew I had to take patient advocacy to the next level. I just did not know how until I finally opened my laptop after months, and there was the genius of Sean."
Meanwhile, Dr. Degmetich, in SF, CA, was looking into starting a company to solve the CV issues. He was not going to be just complacent as a physician, although many would deem him to be in a very successful position. "I couldn't live with myself anymore. I began to research technology, but I needed business guidance, and I found it one day, so randomly, when I met Anjan over LinkedIn, of all places. I didn't even know his story, and he did not know mine, but we instantly bonded and talked for over 5 hours on a whim - he took what was a project and made it into a company. "I have now been able to focus on what I know best - fixing this technology, and it's been a dream come true. This is my path - it's not a job, it's an obligation."
With the recruitment of Dr. Dean Barker as COO-a top engineer in the field who lives in Spain and left a successful career at a larger company to join VentSafe. This catalyst brought the founding team truly to life, united by a shared mission to improve patient care. "It's [CV issues] too important to ignore, especially with the technical knowledge I possess - almost selfish - and that is not something I can be in this crisis. I am willing to sacrifice what it takes, and together with the support of the NIH, I know we can change the world."
As VentSafe embarks on this exciting journey, the team's commitment to improving ICU care shines through. Each member brings valuable experience and a shared passion for enhancing patient outcomes in intensive care settings. The recent NIH Phase I grant is a significant milestone, providing essential support that brings VentSafe closer to developing even more innovative solutions for ICUs worldwide - ultimately making these units fully adaptive and revolutionizing healthcare.
SAFE VENTS. SAVE LIVES.
#SAFEVENTSSAVELIVES
For more information about VentSafe and its mission, please visit www.ventsafemedical.com.
Contact Information:
Company: VentSafe
Address: 90 Urbano Drive, San Francisco, CA 94127
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.ventsafemedical.com
Disclaimer: "Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R43HL176331. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."
SOURCE: VentSafe