A new tool to help patients with chronic lung diseases, being studied at the University of Iowa College of Engineering, has received $2.55 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research program. Suresh Raghavan, professor of biomedical engineering, and Syed Mubeen, associate professor of chemical and biochemical engineering, are researching a portable oxygen concentrator that uses an electrochemical process to generate 100% pure oxygen with ambient air as its input. Preliminary testing suggests the device would overcome many of the shortfalls of available portable oxygen concentrators, such as limited oxygen flow, excessive weight, inconsistent oxygen purity and noise. If successful, the project could revolutionize long-term oxygen therapy for over 1.5 million Americans suffering from conditions such as COPD, interstitial lung disease and pulmonary hypertension. The Small Business Innovation Research program funds R&D collaborations between small businesses and U.S. research institutions. In this case, Pranions, Inc. – a medical device startup spun out of Raghavan and Mubeen’s university research labs – is the project lead. Austin McKee, director of technology, is the principal investigator for Pranions, which is located in the UI’s Translational Research Incubator in Iowa City. McKee worked with Raghavan and Mubeen and co-invented this device. McKee is also scheduled to begin as a part-time instructional faculty member in the UI Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering this fall. Raghavan and Mubeen are both faculty affiliates of the Iowa Technology Institute, a research arm of the College of Engineering. The project has also been supported by UI Ventures and the UI Research Foundation. The UI team also includes Lakshmi Durairaj, associate professor of internal medicine and pulmonology section chief, and Patrick O’Shaughnessy, professor of occupational and environmental health.
