‘This is a proof of concept of a new way to ventilate,’ says MIT associate professor of mechanical engineering

Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have developed a ventilator that works with the diaphragm to improve breathing.

According to a news release from MIT, the objective of the soft and implantable ventilator is to enhance the diaphragm and raise lung capacity for individuals with diaphragm dysfunction. People with neuromuscular diseases, paralysis and damage to the phrenic nerve are susceptible to ongoing diaphragm dysfunction.

“This is a proof of concept of a new way to ventilate,” said Ellen Roche, associate professor of mechanical engineering and a member of the Institute for Medical Engineering and Science at MIT.

The diaphragm is responsible for breathing, and MIT engineers built soft, balloon-like tubes that can be inserted, just over the diaphragm, to help the muscle push down and expand the lungs when increased with an external pump.

Researchers have tested the tubes on animal models, but there is still plenty of legwork to be done before they can be utilized in patients with chronic diaphragm dysfunction.

“The biomechanics of this design are closer to normal breathing, versus ventilators that push air into the lungs, where you have a mask or tracheostomy,” said Roche. “There’s a long road before this will be implanted in a human. But it’s exciting that we could show we could augment ventilation with something implantable.”

Roche’s previous work on an assistive device for the heart was the catalyst for implantable ventilator design. Previously, she created a cardiac sleeve that covers the heart in order to relieve pressure and lend support as the organ pumps.

“We thought, what’s another big muscle that pumps cyclically and is life sustaining? The diaphragm,” Roche said.

Work on the implantable ventilator began before the Covid-19 pandemic started. During the pandemic, prototypical ventilators were used to help people suffering from the illness. 

With the new study, the team examined the diaphragm’s contractions and can use the data to program their pump to inflate the tubes at a similar rate.