Israeli device could help treat coronavirus patients in China
Developer from Jerusalem’s ALYN hospital says CoughSync shortens patients’ time on a respirator by automatically simulating a cough; manufacturer has asked for Beijing’s approval
An Israeli invention could help treat coronavirus patients in China and elsewhere, according to the doctor who developed it.
Dr. Eliezer Be’eri, director of the Department of Respiratory Rehabilitation at the ALYN Hospital in Jerusalem, said in a video last week that the CoughSync machine developed previously by his team — and currently manufactured in China — could save medical teams valuable time by offering a non-invasive way of shortening patients’ time on a respirator.
“The CoughSync machine is a device that automatically clears secretions from the airways of patients who are being mechanically ventilated, such as, for example, patients with acute viral pneumonia or patients with acute coronavirus infection,” Be’eri said.
“The machine connects to the ventilation tubing of the patient’s ventilator, and it automatically works to simulate a cough,” he added. “It removes secretions by creating airflow similar to that that occurs during a natural cough.”
Be’eri says that the device — which was developed long before the current coronavirus outbreak — is noninvasive and therefore does not have the potential complications of other treatments such as a suction catheter, and that the fact that it is automatic saves time for medical staff and shortens the patient’s time on the ventilator. He also says the machine is more effective than the existing treatments.
“It is particularly suited to be used in situations in which you have many patients suffering from viral pneumonia, such as the coronavirus, who might need to be treated in large facilities where staff time could be at a premium,” he said.
A press release Tuesday by ALYN Hospital claimed the device “is at the most months away from being used to help treat patients with coronavirus in China.”
The Chinese manufacturer has asked for approval from Beijing’s government to use the device in China, and to achieve that it has asked the Israeli developers for material on its advantages.
