RenOx – Combined pulmonary and renal support in one novel, highly integrated device for a patient-tailored artificial lung therapy

• Applicants: Professorin Dr.-Ing. Jutta Arens; Dr. Michael Neidlin; Dr. Bettina Wiegmann
• Subject Area: Medical Physics, Biomedical Technology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 447746988

Lung-kidney crosstalk is a crucial aspect for the development of an individualized implantable lung and acute renal failure is a frequent complication of patients with acute and chronic lung injury, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Patients that are undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a treatment for acute or chronic lung diseases need detailed observation of the kidney function, as they are at highest risk for acute kidney injury and massive volume overload.Until now hemofiltration (renal function) and membrane oxygenation (lung function) are performed by separate devices which leads to high infection risks, thrombus formation at the foreign surfaces and many other sources of error caused by redundant cannulation and tubing. Hence, there is a great need for the development of combined pulmonary and renal support in one device.In the course of the project a solution for simultaneous lung and kidney support will be developed and tested in silico, in vitro and in vivo. At first, ECMO patient needs will be identified from clinical data with special emphasis on fluid management and kidney function. Subsequently, state-of-the-art approaches in device development and manufacturing will be used to design a prototype for extensive in-vitro testing. Lastly the developed prototype will be tested in vivo to proof its feasibility. In parallel, a numerical framework describing the hemodynamics, gas and mass transfer within a “virtual patient” will be developed on the basis of clinical data to provide mechanistic insights into simultaneous pulmonary and renal support therapy.The proposed project uses an innovative combination of clinical data analysis, in vitro and in silico based device design and development and animal experiments to provide solutions for a complication with huge medical, social, and economic impact. It further on considers lung-kidney crosstalk and offers new experimental and computational methods to further understand the underlying mechanisms and pave the way towards an implantable artificial lung.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2014: Towards an Implantable Lung
• International Connection: Netherlands