A ventilation mask for premature babies

Every year, 20% of the 1 million newborns born prematurely in Europe and the United States need respiratory assistance to survive. The management of these premature babies involves long-term nasal ventilation, which can have deleterious effects on the skin and airways, as well as ventilation defects related to infant movement. The fragility of the tissues requires specific devices and the evolution of the management of premature babies proposing to put the child in contact with its mother as long as possible requires a very good mobility of the system, without loss of effectiveness.Dr Eric Dumas de la Roque, a hospital practitioner at the Bordeaux University Hospital, had the idea of developing a new device: a ventilation mask taking into account the clinical and physiological constraints of premature babies.

This new device for premature babies has the advantage of being simple, robust, mobile and more airtight than the current devices on the market. It will enable us to offer more effective and less invasive care, thus guaranteeing optimal development for premature babies.

Supported by Aquitaine Science Transfert for the technological and economic maturation, as well as for the Intellectual Property, this project led by Dr de la Roque quickly caught the attention of the French company Vygon, manufacturer of medical devices and specialist in neonatology.

An exclusive operating licence was thus signed in May 2019 between Vygon and SATT Aquitaine for the development, industrialisation and marketing of this innovative device, which will be launched on the market in three to five years.

I can only emphasise the quality of the collaboration with Vygon and the SATT Aquitaine team, which did a great job upstream, particularly in evaluating the technology and negotiating. Although there are still many obstacles to overcome, all the conditions are in place for this project to become a good product," says Eric Dumas de la Roque.

Source : Aquitaine Online