ElekSA

Excessive use of intensive care is one of the greatest challenges during epidemics and pandemics. Artificial ventilation is of great importance in intensive care treatment. Mechanical ventilation is a considerable medical and organizational challenge. The risk of injury and infection, as well as physical debilitation during mechanical ventilation, lead people to consider this ventilatory support as a last resort. The complicated weaning process stresses patients and ties up many professionals. Particularly critical are the immense intensive care requirements and the duration of mechanical ventilation. These problems are inherent in the technology and therefore require a fundamentally new approach.

The aim of this project is to explore new electrodes and new bio-electronics for artificial ventilation based on the principle of electroventilation, which has not been practiced clinically before. In electroventilation, the phrenic nerves are electrically stimulated and, as a result, the body's own muscles are induced to perform a ventilatory movement. In this process, the lungs are filled by a natural suction. This is in contrast to mechanical ventilation, where air is forced into the lungs. Electroventilation minimizes muscle atrophy and eliminates the critical and particularly personnel-intensive weaning from ventilation. Thus, electroventilation offers better treatment for ventilated patients, relieves the burden on intensive care medicine, and thus has great economic potential.

Non-invasive stimulation of the phrenic nerves requires special current pulse sequences, so research is being conducted on a novel stimulation generator. In addition, current application over a long period of time places new demands on the practicality, safety, hygiene, compatibility and stability of the stimulation electrodes. For this purpose, new electrodes and textile holding mechanisms are being researched. Our focus is on the new electrodes for electrically stimulated ventilation.